Putnam Justice Center Awarded $100,000 Technology Grant

A $100,000 technology grant has been awarded to Putnam County’s Justice Center to modernize the legal process.

Circuit Court Clerk Jennifer Wilkerson said it became clear during the pandemic that technology to limit contact was needed. Wilkerson said the new equipment will provide video monitors, telestrators, and new lines of communication to benefit both parties in a court case.

“This is really where we’re going, we’re on the cusp of technology that’s something we haven’t seen here before,” Wilkerson said. “So this is something sort of new across the nation and I’m really, really excited that we’re going to be able to bring it to this area.”

Wilkerson said that they have begun making contact to begin the bid process, hoping to have installation complete in the next 2-3 months. Wilkerson said this new equipment will address the current needs during the pandemic that bog down court dockets due to the level of traffic inside the justice center.

“It was difficult for attorneys to be able to meet with their clients who were incarcerated or in jail,” Wilkerson said. “So now this system will allow them to be able to have private conversations on closed circuit monitors and through the internet.”

Wilkerson said that jurors, prosecutors and judges will make less physical contact in court. She said they will have new tools to clarify during testimony and evidence presentations.

“We’re going to have monitors inside the courtroom where the attorneys could then clarify,” Wilkerson said. “Particularly if they’re talking about a specific area or a piece of evidence. The witness can draw on the monitors and show on the screen, so that everyone in the courtroom will have the information all at the same time.”

Wilkerson said the focus of applying for this grant was to eliminate contamination and germ spread. The grant is through the Office of Criminal Justice Programs.