With word of Natick District Court closing in September and shifting its cases to the district courthouse in Framingham, the fate of similar-sized courthouses is left looming.
"I certainly hope it doesn't happen in Wrentham," said Clerk Magistrate Edward J. Doherty.
District courthouses, which have seen a caseload spike, have been forced to reduce staffing because of budget constraints. Now the state is moving to consolidate some buildings to save money.
"We have hardworking people here, and we do the best we can to keep our heads above water," Doherty said.
In Natick, the two MetroWest courthouses are merging as a result of the state's dire financial situation, state Rep. David Linsky, D-Natick, said.
Such consolidation is not unprecedented.
Last month, the state merged Winchendon District Court into Gardner District Court.
"The temporary relocation is an expense reduction measure in response to the statewide economic decline," a press release reads.
"The recent temporary relocations of several courts have occurred where savings can be achieved through the termination of private leases," said Joan Kenney, a spokeswoman for the courts.
Because Milford District Court is owned by the state, Clerk Magistrate Thomas Carrigan said it is unlikely the West Street courthouse will face the same fate as Winchendon and others.
"I haven't heard any word of Milford closing or consolidating," he said. "It doesn't seem to fit the criteria that has been described."
The only savings would be the cost of utilities, Carrigan said.
Still, he fears the impact from such mergers.
"It's offsetting public convenience, and brings down employee morale and productivity," Carrigan said.
Milford District Court which serves Milford, Mendon, Upton, Hopedale and Bellingham has been working under a hiring freeze since July 2007.
"We're not processing the work that we have as timely as we would like," he said. "To reduce the headcount any further would mean that certain work would just not be done."
The clerk's office operates with one part-time and five full-time employees, compared to 11 years ago when nine people handled the clerical work. Carrigan estimated about 20 people work in the courthouse.
He said civil cases have increased by 30 percent in the past two years.
"Small claims and the people trying to collect on debts have gone up dramatically," he said. "But criminal has gone flat and maybe shown a slight slowdown."
In fiscal 2008, Milford District Court handled 2,329 criminal cases, according to data from the state trial courts Web site.
That compares to 4,823 criminal cases in Framingham District Court; 1,151 criminal cases in Natick District Court and 2,087 in Uxbridge District Court.
In Marlborough District Court, the courthouse is consistently busy, Clerk Magistrate Paul Malloy said.
There were 2,376 criminal cases last year in Marlborough, according to state data.
There have been no discussions of closing that courthouse, which serves Marlborough and Hudson, Malloy said.
"I understand they are closing courthouses where the state has a lease as opposed to owning the property," he said.
The Marlborough and Framingham court buildings are state-owned.
In Waltham, the district court handled 2,663 criminal cases in fiscal 2008.
About 15 people, not including judges, court officers and probation officers work in the Linden Street courthouse.
There were 12,056 total cases filed last year, said Philip McCue, director of court operations.
In Dedham District Court, 3,104 criminal cases were filed in fiscal 2008.
One of the busier courthouses in the region, Wrentham District Court is not facing consolidation. It remains crowded.
In addition to the 3,531 criminal cases filed in fiscal 2008, the courthouse is now sharing its facility with Attleboro District Court following a fire earlier this year.
"We're even more busy now," said Doherty, who explained the civil cases are temporarily being handled in Wrentham.
The criminal cases are being handled in Taunton District Court, he said.
"It's always a busy place and it's even more busy with these folks here," he said.
Criminal cases have gone up significantly, especially with the addition of Patriot Place and additional liquor licenses.
"That's good for some people, but it usually has an increase in my business," he said.
(Jessica Hills, Edward Colby and Charlie Breitrose contributed to this report. Michelle Laczkoski can be reached at mlaczkos@cnc.com or 508-634-7556.)
