Courthouse sees CARES Act improvements

While jury trials have been postponed by the Wyoming Supreme Court, work in the state’s judicial branch hasn’t completely halted.

Throughout the state, CARES Act funding, federal money approved for pandemic-related uses, has been spent in various courtrooms in Wyoming, including in Sweetwater County.

The judicial branch has spent nearly $270,000 at the Sweetwater County Courthouse in Green River to upgrade audio and video equipment in courtrooms utilized by Third Judicial District Court Judges Richard Lavery and Suzannah Robinson, as well as in a third overflow courtroom in the building.

Nate Goddard, the IT operations manager for the Wyoming Judicial Branch, said the work started in late September and wrapped up in early October.

He said video presentation equipment was added to the rooms as part of the upgrades.

While the district court courtrooms were the focus of the investment, Goddard said they decided not make similar investments in the courtrooms used by Circuit Court Judges John Prokos and Craig Jones because the equipment in their courtrooms was installed more recently.

The courtrooms are located at the Sweetwater County Justice Center between Rock Springs and Green River. The building was completed in 2018.