by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
The new Duval County Courthouse won’t host its first trial until at least 2007, and according to Chief Judge Donald Moran, with demands increasing on the current facilities, that’s just too long to wait.
With City Council approval, Moran plans to build a new courtroom in the existing courthouse by withdrawing approximately $250,000 from a court facilities fund. The bill, which was introduced Oct. 28, is currently under review in the Council’s Finance and Public Health, Safety & Utilities committees.
“The county judges came to me and said we just don’t have enough courtrooms to handle our case load,” said Moran. “By not having it, we’re holding people in jail for too long before they’re going back before a judge, and no one deserves that.”
Moran said the courtroom — it will primarily be used for criminal hearings — will allow for people “to be cycled through the system in a much more timely manner.”
County Court Judge Tyrie Boyer, who is one of three county judges who floats between courtrooms as they become available, said the new courtroom is long overdue.
“We determined this need some time ago. We have enough judges, but not enough courtrooms,” said Boyer. “The city is constantly growing and it’s not feasible to wait another five years. The population is not just going to sit still and we really do need this.”
Boyer and Moran said the courtroom, which barring complications should be completed by January, will be little more than functional.
“As I understand it, we’re building this with no frills,” said Boyer. “It will look more like one of the courtrooms on the mezzanine level than anything else. It’s for day-in, day-out use, not like a ceremonial courtroom.”
To keep costs low, Moran salvaged benches and other materials from the old federal courthouse, which is currently vacant.
“I believe we were able to recycle a good bit of furniture,” said Boyer. “Everything from the jury seating, to the witness chair, to the judge’s bench is being re-used. We’re trying to save as much money as we can do to this.”
Boyer added there would be no reason for taxpayers to think they are spending even more money while they wait for the new county courthouse to be built.
“That’s one of the most important things to understand,” he said. “We’re not paying for this with tax dollars. The court facilities fund is covered by people who have been convicted in the criminal system in the past.
“This is exactly what that fund is for. It provides us money to update and repair what’s in the courthouse without using tax dollars. It allows us to build necessary things.”