NATCHEZ — In a courtroom the size of most average-sized living rooms, the Adams County Justice Court is cramped and crowded.

For more than a year Justice Court Judge Charlie Vess has been imploring the Adams County Board of Supervisors to allocate funding to either purchase a new building to relocate the justice court or renovate the existing building.

And now that supervisors are meeting for budget discussions, Vess is once again seeking funding — and this time he has some help.

Vess is currently circulating a petition throughout the local legal community which asks the supervisors to bring improvements to the justice court building.

“I think the petition speaks for itself,” Vess said. “I’m not the only one that sees a need for change.”

Vess’ petition has been signed by approximately 20 local lawyers and several more have voiced an interest in signing, Vess said.

Vess said while he believes the justice court should be relocated to another building in town, he realizes the county has budget constraints.

“Realistically, we need to look at renovating the space we have,” he said.

Local attorney Jack Lazarus said while it’s not often he practices in justice court, he believes the small open room presents a safety hazard.

“(The courtroom) is a place where emotions run high. And if there is a fight or a fire in the courtroom, there’s no place for anyone to go,” Lazarus said. “It’s just not an adequate size for a courtroom.”

Additionally, Vess said the fire marshal recently visited the courtroom and instructed Vess that no more than 17 people should be allowed in the building at one time.

Vess said prior to the fire marshal’s visit, it was not uncommon to have close to 40 people in the courtroom.

“Now we have people waiting in the stairwell and waiting outside,” Vess said. “It’s a bad situation.”

While Vess said he is understating to the county’s budget constraints, be believes a renovation to the court could provide much needed space and wouldn’t bust the county’s budget.

Earlier this week Vess met with a contractor who estimated the necessary renovations that would greatly increase the size of the courtroom would cost approximately $60,000.

Vess said fines and fees collected within the court could easily cover the cost of renovations.

July, which Vess classified as a “slow month,” saw more than $80,000 in fines and fees collected.

“This is something that we can easily cover,” he said. “We not looking for a handout, we’re definitely holding our own over here.”

And while the supervisors haven’t met with Vess, or received a copy of his petition yet, his request has been taken under advisement, Supervisor Mike Lazarus said.

Lazarus said the supervisors are currently seeking estimates from contractors to determine how much the needed renovations would cost.