One of the unexpected consequences of the restoration of the Grimes County district courtroom is, while the original metal ceiling looks great, it’s created acoustic problems that have become insurmountable.
Grimes County D.A. Tuck Mclane tells Navasota News, the audio system has recently fried its mother board, giving him the chance to create one from scratch.
Mclane explains, the expense was justified by the needs of the court. The necessities stems from two places, court room stenographers have to record every word that goes on. If there is a mistake an entire case can be sent back to the courts.
Add to that, modern law enforcement can now gather evidence by cameras and microphones that the jury needs to be able to accurately evaluate.
The courtroom’s previous renovation focused on making it historically accurate, says Mclane, and the roof wasn’t the only problem.
But now that the audio is better, Mclain goes on, they’re working on the video, including a new closed-circuit to allow for testimony from people not in the courtroom at the time.