By JO-MARIE BROWN
A new $18 million court on the North Shore is not yet complete, but lawyers are already saying its facilities will be inadequate.
The courthouse, on the corner of Don McKinnon and Corinthian Drives in Albany, will not have jury facilities when it opens in August, which has outraged
North Shore barrister Geoff Anderson.
"We're one of the fastest-growing areas in New Zealand and we can't have a jury court.
"This building won't do the job and getting over to Auckland is such an ordeal because the traffic is horrendous," he said.
North Shore's population is expected to grow by up to 47 per cent to 261,600 people by 2021.
Department for Courts spokesman Barry Ebert said fewer than 50 North Shore defendants stood trial in the Auckland District Court in the last June year, so the facilities could not be justified.
Dinah Dolbel, who has practised law on the North Shore for 11 years, said defendants had the right to have their trial held close to home.
"I'm disappointed that really, other than getting a building that will be newer and prettier ... we don't seem to be getting much of an improvement."
But North Harbour Law Society president Bill Spring, who was consulted on the project, said lawyers would be pleasantly surprised by the new facility.
Lawyers working in the $23 million Manukau District Court, which opened last October, are also dissatisfied.
Barrister Colleen Newton said they were unhappy with the small size of jury trial courtrooms, poor acoustics, and lack of parking.
