Courthouse Backlog

By Jeanie R. Wakeland

When the administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) asked Glenn County Superior Court Judge Angus Saint-Evens about security in his court chambers, he pointed to the corner of his desk. Because sheriff deputies march juvenile defendants within three feet of that spot on their way to his courtroom, Saint-Evens says, "I've got my pencil cup over here [on the other side] because I don't want a pencil shoved through my neck."

The AOC's Office of Court Construction and Management has collected similar stories from courthouse staff throughout California since the AOC began taking over the maintenance and operations of local courthouses in 2002. Together, these anecdotes point to a strong need for buildings that allow secure separation of those in custody from court staff, witnesses, victims, and the public.

But it will take more than that to bring California's courts into the 21st century. Everywhere you look, clerks need more room to assist judges; judges need sophisticated computer access in their courtrooms; attorneys need rooms in which to confer; juries need waiting rooms; witnesses need child care facilities; the public needs self-help and library facilities; and everybody needs more restrooms. In addition, many of the state's courthouses were built more than 40 years ago, so incidents of flooding, sewage spills, and even bat infestations are not unknown.

Now that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a $5 billion courthouse bond measure, some of the state's most derelict facilities are scheduled to be replaced or renovated (though budget shortfalls have since stalled two projects).

Attorneys and their clients will underwrite the bond fees by paying an additional $25 to $35 per court filing fee, extra fees for traffic school, and a $40 fee for each misdemeanor and felony conviction.

Not everyone is happy about the increases - especially defense attorneys, who complain that poor people churning through the criminal courts will end up bearing most of the costs. But state bonds aren't the only way to go. For example, when Placer County opened the Bill Santucci Justice Center in Roseville in July, it was built by a private firm and paid for with a leaseback-financing deal.

In designing the Santucci Center, architectural firm Dreyfuss & Blackford drew heavily on recommendations of the AOC and a court staff committee, says architect and president John Webre. One example: "More case resolution takes place outside [the] courtroom than inside," Webre says, "so there are lots of private conference areas behind courtrooms." The center also clusters judges' chambers in a suite rather than assigning each one to a courtroom. "That allows courtrooms to be more thoroughly used and provides enormous flexibility," he notes.

With more than 150 court projects remaining on the AOC's Trial Court Capital Outlay Plan, expect proponents to return to the Legislature for more funding - with judges and courthouse attorneys alike lined up to testify.

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