In one instance, a document had to be physically driven from Melbourne to Bendigo for the start of a hearing after a court staffer forgot to mail it.

Three hours later, it arrived just in time before the hearing had to be adjourned for a few days.

The court has its reasons for such curiosities – but it’s hard not to think about the fax machine sitting behind the downstairs counter.

The jury empanelment process, familiar to many in Bendigo, can be like walking on egg shells for the judge and court staff.

Just one slip up can push a case back by weeks, months or, in the most serious cases, up to a year.

For a County Court like Bendigo where one upstairs room in the old post office can be used at a time to hear cases, a single delay can extend the wait for everyone else waiting for justice.

So ingrained are these centuries of tradition that they are part of the fabric of the court. The accused is certainly entitled to appeal if they feel wronged – even ever so slightly on the mildest of technicalities.

Fortunately for Bendigo, steps have been made into the digital world.

Judges get a hard time in the community for perceptions of lenient penalties and too much sympathy for certain offenders – forgetting the delicate balancing act they play between an overburdened prison system, increased recidivism, the link between disadvantage and crime, and overall community safety.

But few could argue against the apparent advances made in the Victorian County Court circuit to speed up the time between committal and trial. Regardless of the penalties at the end, a well-oiled court process works in everyone’s favour.

Judge Gerard Mullaly and the County Court’s work to cut case waiting times in Bendigo is long overdue, and should be applauded.

As law and order increasingly becomes a political battleground, any extra time in the court diary is sure to come in handy in the coming years.

And any extra day spent waiting for a case to come before court is one too many for victims of crime.