"We desperately need better court facilities," according to Chief Justice Richard Ground, who has concerns over the security of Bermuda's Supreme Courts.

The Island will get new Magistrates' Courts when the new Police and court building is completed in Hamilton next year. But Bermuda's top judge who's been pushing for new Supreme Court buildings ever since he took up his role in 2004 is still waiting.

"We have court three and court one that can do criminal trials. Neither's very secure. There's only one entrance for the public, for the jury and for witnesses at court three. It's very difficult to secure the court," he said.

Although Magistrates' Court has metal detectors at the front door, this would be difficult and expensive to implement in the higher courts due to them having multiple entrances.

The interior layout of the courtrooms also causes a security headache.

In the flagship Supreme Court one building, defendants have to walk through the public gallery to get to the dock. The gallery is often packed with friends and family of the victims and accused alike, and tensions can run high.

In Supreme Court three, located at the junction of Front Street and Court Street, members of the jury have to make their way in and out through the public gallery.

The Chief Justice is so concerned about the security implications that after the verdict in one recent high-profile trial: "I let the jury go, and then I had to sit there talking for another five minutes just to keep the courtroom engaged so the jury could get up and get out, so they were not subjected to the family and everything else."

Meanwhile, witnesses and jurors have to use the same crowded hallway to get to the courtroom as the defendants, lawyers and members of the public.

Supreme Court one is located in the 195-year-old Sessions House, which is also home to the House of Assembly, and is awaiting major renovation work. The plumbing regularly breaks down, as does the air conditioning. Both caused problems during the Kellon Hill murder trial last summer.

Meanwhile Supreme Court three is housed in the Registry building, first built as Customs House 216 years ago. There is no disabled access and limited bathroom facilities, meaning jurors have to share them with witnesses, lawyers and members of the public.

The access problem meant the Rhiana Moore murder trial had to move up the hill to Supreme Court one last summer where there is a ramp in order to accommodate a wheelchair-bound witness.

Top British barrister, Courtney Griffiths QC, launched a stinging attack on Bermuda's facilities four years ago after he represented one of the defendants in the Cooper twins murder trial.

"Bermuda is not a Third World country," he said at the time. "This is a wealthy society and I fail to see why this Government can't provide better court facilities."

The Chief Justice acknowledged there is "a lot of truth in what he says". However, he's not expecting to see new courtrooms any time soon.

"I've been pushing for a new Supreme Court ever since I arrived but I don't think it's realistic to expect that in the short term, simply because it will be a very expensive proposition and Government is spending a lot of money doing a new Magistrates' Court," he said.

"And I think that's the right priority. I think the Magistrates' Court needed doing first, so I've no criticism about that. I would like it to be given more recognition as a medium-term planning item get it on the agenda but I appreciate that resources are short at the moment and I don't realistically expect that to happen in the near future."