Massachusetts Courthouse Ready to Hold Trials Again

The Attleboro District Court in Massachusetts ready to hold jury trials again — a year and a half after a fire caused major damage to the building.

Court officials say trials in the James Sullivan Courthouse are scheduled to begin again on Jan. 3.

Trials haven’t been held in the facility since May 2009 when an electrical fire on the second floor civil clerk’s office caused an estimated $500,000 in damage. No one was in the building at the time.

Although some business was conducted in the courthouse soon after the fire, criminal trials were transferred to Taunton while civil cases were handled in Wrentham.

The civil clerk’s office, which handles restraining orders, evictions and small claims lawsuits, reopened on the second floor last month.