You could walk into Courtroom 3 at the Benton County Courthouse and think you had gone back in time.

A glance around the room and you notice nearly everything is smaller than what you find in the other two second-floor courtrooms just across the hall. Not only is the room smaller, but so is the area reserved for the attorneys, judge, court staff and visitors.

Measuring about 25 feet wide by 20 feet deep, Courtroom 3 is small by today's courtroom standards. But some court officials and attorneys who work there on a regular basis say it serves its purpose.

The Benton County Courthouse, built in the 1880s, is the oldest courthouse in Oregon still used for its original purpose. Courtroom 3 has been in service for most of the time since then, closing only during renovations and reconstruction projects.

Believed to be one of the smallest courtrooms still in use in the country, it is occupied every weekday afternoon for arraignments. During most sessions, those arrested appear by videoconference from the jail two floors below or another jail where they are being held. One television in the room shows the defendants, while the other displays different views of the courtroom that are seen by the defendants. Attorneys attend the hearings in person.

In addition, the courtroom is home to the county's teen court, a program where young people decide the fate of their peers who have broken the law. Periodically, it has been used for children testifying in trial cases.

"It works out fine for the video arraignment hearings," said Circuit Court Judge Janet Holcomb. "We don't need a large space."

But, she added, "A few times we have had too many people and couldn't accommodate them all."

With room for just six visitors — possibly seven if they squeeze in tight — on the one-row gallery bench behind the attorneys, space is taken up quickly. Sometimes that space is taken up by defendants who have been cited and released then ordered to appear at their arraignment hearing.

Attorneys — and their clients if they are present — sit at two tables with a total of four chairs. Nearby are a few chairs for attorneys waiting to represent their clients. On a bustling day it can create quite a scene.

Like Holcomb, Benton County District Attorney Scott Heiser has experienced the overflow.

"You get a day when you've got 15 or 20 people to arraign (in person or by videoconference), and that area gets filled up quickly," he said.

Often family and friends who want to be present have to wait outside until it's that person's turn or until there is enough room.

Heiser appreciates the smaller courtroom, knowing the business conducted there keeps the larger courtrooms from being tied up. This is particularly important with the closure of the courtrooms on Fridays due to state budget cuts earlier this year.

And with the closure of the Benton County jail for about six weeks until a renovation project is completed in mid-May, most of Benton County's inmates are being held at jails in Lincoln and Yamhill counties. Thus, more inmates are appearing for court appointments via videoconference.

Cy Stadsvold, a local architect who has done work on the Benton County Courthouse and others throughout the state, describes Courtroom 3 as quaint.

"It's certainly a neat little courtroom," he said.

For those who at times call it home during the day, it seems to suit them as well.

"It seems to serve our purposes," Holcomb said.

Jesse Sowa covers public safety and general assignments for the Gazette-Times. He can be reached at jesse.sowa@lee.net or 758-9521.