THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 2, 1995 TAG: 9507020060
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CURRITUCK LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines
Assistant District Attorney Robert Trivette pushed himself up from his chair and addressed the crowd before him.
``When I call your name,'' he said loudly, ``get in line behind that juice machine.''
About 30 people silently obliged. Some stood under the health department's Grade A certificate; others, next to a bulletin board with a picture of an owl, head of lettuce and the words ``Eat Wise.'' Those in the rear leaned on the salad bar railing.
One by one, requests were given to the black-robed man framed by Knapp Junior High School banners and a striped awning on the express food bar behind him.
``I'll waive,'' most told the judge, when asked about their right to an attorney.
Welcome to Currituck County, where justice is being served in the cafeteria this summer.
``The first word that came to mind when we were over there yesterday was surrealistic,'' Trivette said the day after working in the makeshift courtroom. ``It doesn't seem real. It actually seems much more than real.''
It also seems to be the best place to hold court this summer while work crews fix structural damage on the existing courtroom at the Currituck County Courthouse, less than a mile away.
``Really, it's the only space available to us. We're actually fortunate to have that place because it's big enough,'' said Grafton Beaman, the senior resident First Judicial District Court judge who helped decide on the change of venue.
``It also shows the need to build a new courthouse,'' he added.
The Currituck County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. Monday with Hampton Roads architect David Cederquist about a new judicial facility.
The board recently approved $215,000 to design a new complex with at least two courtrooms and office space for the clerk of court and register of deeds.
The current facility, with only one courtroom, was built in 1842 and is showing its age. County officials hope to reopen the old courtroom on Aug. 7, after a crumbling ceiling is replaced and before school begins.
Until then, the county will be providing its own special brand of law and order.
Need to pay a fine? Go on back to the kitchen. What about a place to consult with a lawyer? Try those snack booths in the back.
When a Superior Court jury trial starts in mid-July, the panel will be sequestered in the nearby science room, where teenagers normally deliberate other earthly matters and physical phenomena.
Lunchroom tables have been removed and rows of 150 blue school chairs fill most of the floor space, with a front section of furniture arranged to resemble a judge's bench area.
``I think the institution itself is what demands respect, not necessarily the building you hold it in,'' said the newest District Court judge, Edgar Barnes, who will preside here in early August.
Still, a lot of visitors - including a sizable number of Virginians charged with speeding during their vacations to the Outer Banks - typically enter the room a bit bewildered.
For some people, the scenery served up a heaping dose of nostalgia.
``You get flooded with memories you haven't had for 30 years,'' said Trivette, who spent his junior high days in Hickory. A little later he said it had actually been closer to 25 years.
The less solemn surroundings had its own supporters.
``It speeds things up,'' one law enforcement officer said. ``I think it also lends an air of informality and makes people less afraid of the system.''
A member of the Currituck County Sheriff's Department said things have gone smoothly. Securing the building, she said, has not been a problem.
Inmates that once were individually brought into the courtroom from the adjacent jail are now transported collectively by van and given front-row seats.
``They've had no trouble with that. They've handled it very well,'' department spokeswoman Susan Johnson said of the police work.
Attorneys haven't had it as easy. With no designated area to sit, many amble about the room, searching for their clients or a secluded spot to speak.
``It does make a difference, especially if the weather is not favorable to getting outside and talking in private,'' said Elizabeth City attorney John Halstead.
Halstead said Currituck's situation reminded him of a similar one Pasquotank County faced in the early 1980s when its courthouse was being renovated. Hearings had to be held at the local agricultural extension office.
In Edenton, courtroom shortages at the Chowan County complex sometimes mean judicial sessions are held at the community center's Swain Auditorium.
``You do what you have to do,'' Judge Barnes said. ``This is business as usual. You keep the docket going.'' by CNB