Courts in the town of DeWitt and the village of East Syracuse have received grant money from the New York State Justice Courts Assistance Program (JCAP) to help enhance courtrooms in the communities.

At the Feb. 9 DeWitt Town Board meeting, Judge David Gideon announce that the court has received a grant from JCAP for nearly $6,000. This is the eight consecutive year the town court has received this grant, totaling about $116,000 overall.

JCAP grants are provided to town and village courts who apply “for any purpose having as its end enhancement of the Justice Courts’ ability to provide suitable and sufficient services to their respective communities,” according to NYCourts.gov. A total of 390 courts in the state received JCAP grants this year.

“Every year they [the DeWitt town court] always look to see what else they can do for the courtroom,” DeWitt Town Manager Mike Morocco said.

According to Gideon, the current courtroom in DeWitt was built with JCAP grant money and over the years, the court has been able to add new technologies to enhance the courtroom. He said this year’s grant money will be used to install audio/visual enhancements to the court, blinds on the court’s door to ensure jurors’ safety, to purchase three step stools and to build a six-car secure gated parking area for the court.

At the Feb. 9 meeting of the village of East Syracuse, Judge Joseph Zavaglia also announce the village court received more than $3,600 in grant money this year. This grant money will be used to buy a new conference tables, a robe for the judge and a seal for court papers.

Hayleigh Gowans is a reporter for the Eagle Bulletin. She can be reached at [email protected].