by Liz Daube
Staff Writer
As the legal community eased into the new year last week, the Daily Record wanted to gather some perspective on the big issues facing attorneys and the courts in 2007. We asked a variety of local sources for their input on the upcoming year.
The big one: county courthouse
The need for a new county courthouse topped most attorneys’ list of concerns. “Of course, there’s the courthouse–” marked the beginning of nearly every interview.
Local government has been negotiating with the team of Auchter/Perry/McCall/Rink Design/DLR Group to serve as the design/build consultant on the new County Courthouse, which currently has a budget of $263.5 million. Jacksonville attorneys like Eddie Farah, who leads a personal injury firm, said they’re frustrated by the changes that have delayed the courthouse project.
Farah said the current courthouse on Bay Street is overflowing and the amount of investment slated for the new building isn’t adequate.
“You walk into that place [the current courthouse] and it’s like a dungeon,” he said. “We have this nice, new stadium, nice, new library. But the courthouse does not match with the other city projects.”
Jacksonville Bar President-Elect Caroline Emery, who starts her new role this summer, said the five new judges added to the local circuit court are a sign of population growth – and more strain on local courts.
“That translates to more staff and chambers and courtrooms needed and cramped into the same old building, not to mention the drain on security,” she said. “It appears that everyone is working together on that [county courthouse project] now, though ... There have already been some meetings, and I think we’re off to a good start.”
Riverside appellate attorney John Mills had a different take on the new courthouse plans:
“In 2007, a new courthouse solution will arise: converting the Prime Osborn Center to a unified courthouse. Infrastructure and parking are already largely in place. Architectural appeal is already in place for a building with sufficient presence and history to serve as a hall of justice without requiring major taxpayer expenditures. Unlike the purported “Taj Mahal” [previous courthouse plans,] there is tremendous room for economical future expansion (vertical and horizontal) to accomodate growing population and needs for more courtrooms and chambers ... The Prime Osborn location is terrible for a convention center and is too separated from vibrant downtown.”
The other issues
Beyond the courthouse, attorneys brought up a variety of other concerns.
State Attorney Harry Shorstein said the city’s high crime and homicide rates will continue to affect the legal community, along with the rest of Jacksonville.
“It has affected the judicial system in that we start the year with an additional [Circuit Court] criminal division that was created as a result of this [crime,]” he said. “We have to staff it and we don’t get an increase in our budget ... The answer to Jacksonville’s crime problem is to change the social factors: everything from poverty to education to housing, all of the root causes of crime.”
Shorstein said the community has to come together to address those issues because “you can’t prosecute your way out of a problem.”
“We’re somewhat overwhelmed,” he said. “We’ve created a super homicide division with more resources than ever before, it seems we’re working harder than ever before, and were losing ground.”
Bill Scheu, a Rogers Towers attorney and former interim supervisor of elections, said attorneys can become more involved in city issues, like the upcoming elections and homelessness issues.
“It’s important for the whole community, but the legal community has a decided interest in good government,” he said. “We need to support good candidates and help give our advice to the larger community on who will be good public servants.”
Scheu said local volunteers can participate in poll-watching or volunteer to staff voting places themselves. For the homeless issue, Scheu said attorneys might take on mediation or education roles on a pro bono basis or work on forming a mental health court.
“How can the legal community involve itself in the tension between protecting property rights and protecting consitutional rights?” he said. “That [homeless issue] involves government, the sheriff, private property owners, the most vulnerable people in the community, social service agencies.”
Michael Figgins, executive director of Jacksonville Area Legal Aid (JALA), said he looks to maintain and increase support for legal aid every year. JALA provides legal assistance to low-income people for needs ranging from divorce cases to employment rights, but the nonprofit organization sometimes has to turn clients away because of a shortage of resources.
“I’m hoping that in 2007, the issue of access to the courts will come to the front burner,” said Figgins. “In other states, they are setting up pilot projects where clients facing issues like losing their children or their home are getting an attorney appointed to them ... If the state or local bar would ever consider doing a pilot, why not do it here?”
Farah said he’d like to see a mandatory fee charged to lawyers each year and donated to legal aid.
“The Florida Bar news issued a statement that lawyers are making more money now than they have ever before, yet the donations to legal aid are not enough to do what they need to do,” he said. “If every attorney in Jacksonville gave $500 to legal aid – I mean, a lot of people will spend that at P.F. Chang’s [China Bistro] ... I don’t think there’s any reason not to pay that.”