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After Long Wait, San Joaquin County Courthouse Ready To Open

STOCKTON (CBS13) — After close to two decades of planning and designing, the new Superior Courthouse in downtown Stockton is just days away from officially opening its doors to the public.

The last truck will be moving desks, chairs and other furniture this weekend.

The tallest building in all of San Joaquin County is ready to open for business.

The facility is energy efficient and equipped with Wi-Fi. There is a different image on each floor that represents the county – and for the first time, employees will now be screened before entering the building.

"We are really trying to make an effort in this new building to make everyone as safe as possible that includes keeping the in custody defendants separate from the public, keeping the staff separate from the public, screening as many people as we can," said Robin Appel, judge of the Superior Court.

The 13-floor building holds 28 courtrooms with space for two more. It will be replacing the current courthouse that was built back in 1964. The building includes a small café, a child care center for parents who have short hearings and spacious area for jurors.

Planning and designing of the new superior courthouse started in 2007. Officials broke ground in 2014, and now the building is finally opening.

"Everybody is busy packing, you know packing up their offices, their cubical and we've all been doing this and working on this for a long time now, going through our offices and purging what we can purge and bringing over just only what we need to bring over," said Rosa Junqueiro, courts executive officer.

Construction crews will likely be working into September putting the finishing touches on the new $300 million building – and training for staff will be ongoing.

"That is why we are here is support the judges, and the judges need all of us, and we all need to be here to do the job that we are here to do to support the public," she said.

Stockton's new superior court building opens on Monday. County leaders will then be in charge what happens to the old court house.

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