Pierce County District Court, which handles more than 175,000 cases a year, has consolidated its operations.

Effective yesterday, the court’s traffic and civil calendars opened in newly renovated courtrooms on the first floor of the County-City Building. That’s a result of the closure last month of the branch court in the Hosmer Building on 96th Street in Tacoma that had operated for 15 years. In December, District Court’s administrative offices and public counter moved from Room 601 on the sixth floor of the County-City Building to Room 239 on the second floor.

Bringing the Hosmer staff into the County-City Building provides more flexibility to handle the high volume of cases. District Court hears such issues as traffic infractions, criminal misdemeanors, civil damages under $75,000, name changes and anti-harassment protection orders. The court has 102 employees, including eight judges, and an annual budget of $12.2 million.

More information about court services is available online here.

County Executive Pat McCarthy made the decision to close the Hosmer branch, which saves $300,000 a year in ongoing maintenance costs. The 14,700-square-foot building is listed for sale at $1.9 million.