“It’s important that the environment is conducive:” New Sussex County Family Courthouse will meet area needs

GEORGETOWN, Del.- The outdated Sussex County Family Courthouse on the Georgetown circle is being replaced with a new facility, at the corner of Race and Market Streets. “Our staff are operating essentially in a building that’s a third of its needed size, we are currently operating around 35,000 square feet in the Georgetown family court and this new building will be 105,000 square feet,”  Delaware Family Court Chief Judge Michael Newell said.

The building will house 8 courtrooms, a larger more secure lobby, security checkpoint and holding areas, and additional workspace for court staff and stakeholders. “It’s going to make a huge difference for the litigants who need separation when they come in our court,” Chief Judge Newell said.

“Some of the great times, especially when you have adoptions, but there’s a lot of times when there’s a lot of tension in family court,” Senator Brian Pettyjohn said. “You have people that are losing parental rights, you have divorces, you have custody cases.”

Local leaders tell me additional space will make the facility safer, and accommodate for the caseload that’s doubled since the current building was built in 1988. “It’s important that the environment is conducive to resolving those conflicts, not keeping people close together in small court rooms that there’s not a lot of space where tempers will flare and the environment doesn’t help to soothe those over,” Sen. Pettyjohn said.

“We’ve had experiences in Delaware unfortunately in New Castle County, back in 2013, where we had a murder suicide happen,” Chief Judge Newell said. “We probably can’t prevent everything from happening, but if you create a safe courthouse for the staff, for the public, and for the people who need our services that is essential.”

But the revamp didn’t come without help, it was collaborative effort from local leaders to the First State’s Governor. “It’s just my commitment to state employees who do their work everyday in all three branches of government to make sure they have the facilities that they are safe and that accommodate the great work that they do,” Governor John Carney said. “Then, obviously for the constituents of our state, for the people that we all work for to make sure they have facilities that are worthy of the challenges that they face.”

The construction of the facility is expected to begin in the Fall and be completed in late 2024.

This new project consists of a new 300-car parking garage that will be the first parking garage in Georgetown. Senator Brian Pettyjohn thinks this will help solve the parking issues in the area.