A move to reduce costs at Bridgton District Court could be more expensive to the town and defendants, according to critics of the plan.

Effective Jan. 1, 2009, only the initial arraignment for criminal cases will take place at court, which has been open for 22 years and serves 18 towns in Cumberland and Oxford counties.

The court processed more than 3,500 cases during fiscal year 2007. Oxford County cases would not be impacted by the upcoming change.

If defendants plead not guilty, they will have to travel to Portland District Court for subsequent hearings and trials. The cases affected will include criminal cases and civil, including minor drug and underage drinking offenses.

“In my head they’re forcing [defendants] into a corner,” said Carolyn Helwig, an associate court clerk. “They’re making it difficult for defendants to make it to court.”

Cumberland County Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Norbert, who will be assigned to Bridgton area cases, said the change may encourage defendants to settle their cases during the arraignment, though she said that a fair amount of people do this anyway.

Norbert said the consolidation of court services to Portland will cut down on duplication in the documentation of cases by clerks in different offices.

“Where state resources are strapped, I don’t expect that to change,” Norbert said of the move to Portland.

Currently at Bridgton District Court, Tuesdays are dedicated to criminal cases, with each Tuesday dedicated to cases involving different law enforcement agencies. Wednesdays are dedicated to uncontested divorces, evictions, harassment and abuse. Family matters cases that involve children and can be resolved with a magistrate, some protective custody matters and small claims court are heard on Thursdays.

Starting Jan. 1, all Cumberland County criminal cases will be heard on a particular Tuesday once a month.

At the Sept. 23 Board of Selectmen’s meeting, Town Manager Mitchell Berkowitz and Police Chief David Lyons said the change could be tough on the town budget.

“It’s going to cost us some money,” Lyons said, pointing out that police officers will be required to go to Portland for hearings and trials, where previously they only had to go to court in Bridgton. This means more overtime, longer travel times and the inability for officers to be on duty while at court.

The consolidation of court services is meant to save the state money, Helwig said, but those behind the proposal are “not looking at the defendants’ point of view.”

Helwig worried that defendants may feel forced to plead guilty and make a deal with the district attorney because they aren’t able to travel to Portland for hearings and a trial. Additionally, the court brings revenue to the town, Helwig said, which would be decreased with less activity.

Helwig, who has worked at the court since 1987, said she wasn’t concerned about her own job, unless the legislature chooses to close the court all together. The three clerks who work in the office are overworked already since a fourth clerk left during a hiring freeze.

State guidelines regarding court traffic should allow 4.5 clerk positions at the court, but clerks have to make do until the hiring freeze abates. In the meantime, clerks from other courts sometimes help out.

“Some days you come in and the stuff on your desk has doubled,” said Court Clerk Belinda Becher said. This week all Cumberland County courts are closed in the mornings to catch up with administrative tasks.

Closing the court all together has been considered. Ted Glessner, the state court administrator, has said that if there isn’t a solution to rising costs and declining funding, the court may not be around much longer.

The threat does not suprise Helwig. “We always hear that they’re going to close Bridgton,” she said.