Cape Girardeau County resumes in-person proceedings in new courthouse

After 20 years in the former Cape Girardeau County Courthouse and months of postponed proceedings due to the coronavirus, Division II Circuit Judge Benjamin Lewis held his first docket day of in-person, non-emergency proceedings Tuesday in the newly-built chambers of Courtroom 301.

After putting social-distancing measures in-place to restrict the audience size to 10 people or fewer and keeping a roll of Clorox wipes at his side, Lewis did not dawdle to begin his first day of work in the new quarters.

With 78 items on his docket for the day and 101 slated for Wednesday, there wasn’t much time to waste.

Previously, groups of as many as a dozen prisoners would be transported from the Cape Girardeau County Jail via sidewalk and into the old chambers. Now, through the use of a new inmate transportation tunnel and elevator system, bailiffs can transport smaller groups and bring them into attached courtrooms one-by-one at their scheduled time of appearance.

The change of venue required some adjusting for defense attorneys who had utilized the large group sizes to sidebar with and prepare last-minute filings for clients prior to them taking the stand. As Lewis pointed out on multiple occasions Tuesday, legal representatives will now be expected to have all necessary filings prepared and submitted prior to their clients’ appearances in order to maintain the new “conveyor-belt system” of transporting prisoners.

The adjustments most-directly impacted the aforementioned defense attorneys during Tuesday’s proceedings, however, the change of quarters was literally felt by all in Courtroom 301.

Bailiff Jason Holloway was the first to mention the courtroom’s rising temperature before proceedings began Tuesday morning. The new facility’s temperature-control system is only accessible by the facility’s IT department, and the thermostat’s status became an ongoing inquiry fielded by Holloway until relief finally came with one hour to go on the docket.

A new keyless lock system grants courthouse staff entry to secure sections of the building, but after 20 years of freely entering and exiting rooms, Lewis forgot to do so early into the day and sent an alarm piercing through the near-silent courtroom. In his defense, it was a mistake made multiple times by others as the day went on.

Before leaving for the day, Lewis said it was not his first encounter with the keyless security system.

The judge mentioned he had one earlier in a staff elevator while learning to navigate the new courthouse. Although his keyless entry device allowed him to open the elevator doors, the judge quickly discovered the device was unable to activate any of its buttons once the elevator’s doors closed — effectively trapping Lewis inside.

Luckily, a fellow court employee came to use the elevator and the judge was free within minutes. Lewis also said he was not the only one to experience the malfunction, and noted Judge Scott Lipke was twice trapped due to key malfunctions.

The malfunction was found to be a result of a programming bug, and it was soon resolved with help from the county’s IT department.

Between becoming acquainted with the new location and the backlog of cases due to coronavirus pandemic protocols, Lewis persevered through the day’s hearings and reached the end of his docket by about 4:30 p.m.

Beussink begins

One floor below, in Courtroom 202, Judge Alan Beussink took his first day on the bench after being sworn in as the newly appointed Division V Associate Circuit Judge on Friday.

The Leopold, Missouri, resident’s appointment was made after the departure of Judge Scott E. Thomsen left a vacancy in the court. The vacancy was briefly filled by Senior Judge Gary Kamp, and although Kamp’s name remained displayed atop the digital docket posted on a monitor outside the courtroom, Beussink led the morning proceedings and worked through the 27 items on his first docket in the new facility.

Kamp is now relieved of the Division V court duties appointed to him after Thomsen’s departure and prior to Beussink’s appointment by Gov. Mike Parson.

According to Lewis, Kamp will soon take over for Senior Judge William Syler, who has been filling in for Judge Michael E. Gardner. Gardner was appointed in February to the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District as the successor to now-retired Judge Lawrence E. Mooney.

According to a news release from the governor’s office, Lipke was appointed May 1 to fill Gardner’s vacancy in Division I. Lewis said Lipke is also continuing to serve in Division IV until an appointment can be made due to the “high-volume, low-intensity” nature of Division IV proceedings.

Miller continues

While Lewis and Beussink began settling into their new quarters, Judge Frank E. Miller continued to hold proceedings across the street in the old courthouse.

Miller continues to serve as a Division III associate circuit judge, but according to Lewis, the judge did not want to schedule proceedings at the new courthouse until June due to uncertainties in the courthouse’s construction caused by the coronavirus.

Cape Girardeau County is in Phase 1 of court re-openings after a Missouri Supreme Court order suspended almost all in-person proceedings, and Lewis said the earliest date Cape Girardeau County courts could enter Phase 2 would be June 1 if local trends continue. For more information, visit www.courts.mo.gov/pandemic for a guide to the status of pandemic protocols in place at Missouri courts