Mayor Don Schlosser led a city delegation to Regina on Monday afternoon to meet with Justice Minister Chris Axworthy, and came away feeling optimistic about a change in the government's decision to close Weyburn's courthouse, possibly as early as this week.

Mayor Schlosser reported to council Monday night he was accompanied by police Chief Bill Millar, city commissioner Bob Smith and city lawyer Kim Thorson.

"I felt we had a very good discussion with him. There will be more discussions held between him and his colleagues in cabinet, and maybe we'll hear something a little better than what we heard last week," said the mayor.

"I think it went quite well. They were receptive to us. I felt the meeting was very positive and they have promised to review the decision with their people in Justice," added Chief Millar.

An announcement may come in the next couple of days, possibly at the NDP Spring Banquet on Thursday night, where Premier Roy Romanow is the scheduled guest speaker. The Justice Department initially announced they would be closing the Weyburn courthouse and moving all Queen's Bench sittings to Estevan or Regina, as well as moving all court services currently available from the provincial and Queen's Bench court workers.

The delegation made a number of points in their case, including explaining what the courthouse means to the City of Weyburn and area, and its symbolism of standing for the administration of justice in the community, said the mayor in an interview on Tuesday.

"You can say what you wish - that you can hold court in a town hall - but we had the feeling really it would be no different than holding the Legislature in a town hall. People look at justice as being a little higher up," said Mayor Schlosser, adding the question, if Queen's Bench court is held in Estevan, what other services will also be moved there?

The courthouse here handles "a lot more cases than people realize," which was also one of the points pressed home to the minister. There were three meetings held prior to the delegation's visit, including with most of the legal community in the bar association and the city police and RCMP, to go over the main points they wanted to put across to the minister.

Another factor that may affect the decision is that the Justice Department has fielded many phone calls on this issue since the word belatedly came out after the budget that the city's 71-year-old heritage building would close at the end of summer.

The lack of usage of the facility was a factor cited by the minister at the time the courthouse closure was made public, despite the large caseload which goes through the courthouse every week.

After ripping the cover off a Weyburn-Estevan phone book (which shows a picture of the courthouse) in the Legislature on March 31, MLA Brenda Bakken has been circulating a petition in the city and area, demanding the courthouse be kept open. The petition has been popular, but the final tally of names isn't known; the MLA was to present a number of signed petitions in the Legislature on Tuesday or today, with the petition still available throughout the area.

Asked what effect the court closure would have on the city's police force, Chief Millar said the biggest would be cost. This would include the cost of sending officers to Estevan or Regina to attend court, and the man-hours lost by those officers being out of the community.

"I think there would be inconsistency in the administration of justice, because the judges would be coming from different communities," said the chief.

The Weyburn detachment of the RCMP wouldn't see much difference in their costs, said Cpl. Art Hopkins, noting they are only scheduled for two provincial court days a month now, and infrequently at Queen's Bench trials.

"The court days are going to be very long, not short like they are now. Also, right now we get all our information sworn at the courthouse, but that service would no longer be available," said Cpl. Hopkins.

A bigger concern he has is how justice will be perceived if the weekly provincial court sessions are held in some hall, using only the available tables and chairs found in most halls.

"It just doesn't have the same prestige or commands the same respect that having it in a courthouse does," he said.