OPINION: We’re working to get the Palmer courthouse back to full capacity

In January, a powerful New Year’s storm struck the Mat-Su and caused extensive damage to the Palmer courthouse. Burst pipes caused water to pour from the ceiling into courtrooms and chambers for hours, resulting in inches of standing water. More than half the building remains unusable while repairs, mold remediation and construction continue, complicated by supply-chain delays. Like all construction projects, each step has brought new challenges. As we started to dry out, more damage became obvious. Over time, as snow has begun to melt, new leaks have appeared. At least three courtrooms need to be completely rewired. In the meantime, we are making every effort to conduct hearings telephonically and through videoconference while repairs and construction are on-going. The windstorm caused close to a million dollars’ worth of damage to the Palmer courthouse.

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough is the fastest growing area in Alaska. The Palmer court is the second-busiest court in the state and the number of cases filed and heard in Palmer increases each year. The Palmer court provides many valuable services to our community -- domestic violence and sexual assault protective orders, divorce and dissolutions, marriage licensing, evictions, small claims, adoptions -- all of these services have been affected in some way. In addition, criminal jury trials have had to be suspended, affecting those accused of a crime, as well as their alleged victims.

All of the court’s operations are vital, and the Palmer judges and staff are working to keep the Palmer courthouse open and functioning as normally as possible given the space limitations we are facing. We have set up temporary offices in the areas that are able to be occupied. Courtrooms are also being used as offices for multiple judges and staff. Our mediation and hearing rooms are doubling as file rooms. We are working to open at least one courtroom for criminal jury trials as soon as possible. Based on current projections, all courtrooms will reopen for in-person hearings this summer.

We understand our operating limitations are frustrating, and that these delays have increased stress for individuals and families with pending issues before the court. Every case and controversy that comes before this court is critical and deserves to be heard in a timely manner. We want to assure you that we are doing everything in our power to conduct time-sensitive and essential hearings immediately, and to prevent delays in every case where possible. The court system is simultaneously working to repair your courthouse to get it back to full capacity as soon as possible.

Kristen Stohler, Jon Woodman, John Cagle, Kari Kristiansen, Amanda Browning, Shawn Traini, Tom Jamgochian, Anna Cometa and Craig Condie are judicial officers for the Alaska Court System in Palmer. Stohler, Woodman, Cagle and Kristiansen serve as Superior Court judges; Browning, Traini and Jamgochian serve as District Court Judges; Cometa and Condie are magistrate judges.

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