by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
The Bryan Simpson U.S. Courthouse is an imposing building across from Hemming Plaza in Downtown, and U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Corrigan has had some memorable moments inside its doors since it opened in the fall of 2002.
Corrigan received his first taste of federal court as a law clerk for U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Gerald Tjoflat from 1981-82 and returned as a U.S. Magistrate Judge in 1996. He would later be appointed to the U.S. District Court by President George W. Bush in 2002 at the time when the Middle District of Florida’s Jacksonville Division opened a nearly $85 million courthouse in Jacksonville.
Federal courts are established by the U.S. government to decide disputes concerning the federal constitution and laws passed by Congress, which are called statutes. U.S. District Courts are the federal trial courts.
Corrigan is currently the presiding judge in a case involving a dispute over Title IX, a law passed in 1972 that requires gender equity for boys and girls in every educational program that receives federal funding. Parents of a female athlete sued the Florida High School Activities Association after sports schedules were released that cut the number of games for every sport except football and cheerleading. Challenges to the federal constitution are regularly heard in Corrigan’s courtroom, but none stood out as more memorable than others for Corrigan.
One unforgettable moment Corrigan recalled experiencing in the courtroom involved a scheduling conflict with another “judge.”
“Judge (Harvey) Schlesinger allowed me to use his courtroom when I was a Magistrate Judge hearing a high profile case,” said Corrigan. “The door to the judges chambers was right behind my chair at the bench. During the proceedings the door began to open up and there is Judge Schlesinger’s 8-year-old granddaughter in a judge’s robe. She was going to play court and didn’t know there was a trial going on. Meanwhile, courtroom security is closing in because they think someone is coming out of the door to get me. I’ll never forget the look on her face or the feeling I had.”
Another memorable part of the courthouse has become the robing chamber. About three Christmases ago Corrigan had a sign installed next to the door that leads out in the courtroom. It reads “Judge like a champion today,” a reference to the sign above the doorway leading out onto the football field from the locker room of the University of Notre Dame football team. Corrigan received his undergraduate degree from the university in 1978. Once he sits at the bench, another gift awaits him. Son Kevin gave him a gavel, which was believed to be a hard gift to give.
“Both my sons liked to come down to the courtroom and play court,” said Corrigan. “Kevin liked to come down and bang the gavel.”
When court is called to session, Corrigan hears about 500 cases a year with the majority being civil cases. His time at the courthouse during any given week can involve writing legal opinions in chambers, presiding over hearings, or sentencing defendants. Mediation has helped reduce the number of civil trials his court hears.
“The settlement rate for civil cases is very high,” said Corrigan, “compared to 10-20 years ago.”
The courtroom has also seen changes in the last 10-20 years. The 10th floor courtroom Corrigan presides over is equipped with computer technology that provides real-time court reporting, which allows everyone in the courtroom to see what is being said on a screen as big as the double doorway entering the courtroom. Lawyers can bring in their own laptops and display PowerPoint presentations on that same screen. For those lawyers who prefer to have physical documents in their hands to present as exhibits, a document camera can display them as well as pictures and X-rays.
“The advances in technology really help increase the efficiency of the court,” said Corrigan.
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