Trends in State Courts

Transcription

1 2016 Trends in State Courts Special Focus on Family Law and Court Communications Trusted Leadership. Proven Solutions. Better Courts.

2 Overall Court Improvements Overall Court Improvements Adaptive Reuse of Old Buildings for New Court Functions in Polk County, Iowa Gordon M. Griller Principal Court Management Consultant, National Center for State Courts When building a new courthouse or justice system facilities may not be realistic, some court and government policymakers have turned to reusing outdated buildings for more modern-day purposes. This is a case study of such a project in Des Moines, Iowa. No Money, No Space, No New Courthouse. Courthouses are a major focal point of the justice system and one of the most revered symbols of the rule of law. Unfortunately, many also portray a bleaker image a picture of neglect, decay, and dysfunction due to outdated, overcrowded, and outmoded conditions. Many of the more than 4,000 state and local courthouses struggle to meet code requirements, federal mandates for the disabled, or worker safety standards. Too many may be unsafe, functionally inadequate, or poorly maintained. Courthouses are a major focal point of the justice system and one of the most revered symbols of the rule of law. Because counties and cities often bear the primary responsibility for court construction and renovation (even in Iowa, where the legislature funds trial court operations), numerous court buildings compete weakly against other necessary government services and capital-funding needs. Frequently, they are passed over in lieu of other priorities, worsening an already deplorable situation. Such was the case with the historic Polk County Courthouse in Des Moines, Iowa, an iconic 110-year-old building serving as the principal site for the state s district court in Iowa s capitol city, home to over 210,000 people. 1 1 Iowa has a unified trial court structure, meaning the state district court processes all case types. Adaptive Reuse of Old Buildings for New Court Functions in Polk County, Iowa 121

3 2 Various court programs and justice system offices working closely with the court (i.e., initial appearances, prosecutor, public defender, adult probation, juvenile services, juvenile detention, traffic court, and small-claims court) were scattered throughout downtown Des Moines. 3 The most recent effort was a special election on April 29, 2008, at the start of the Great Recession, when Polk County voters defeated a $132 million bond referendum to renovate the county courthouse and construct an eight-and-a-half story adjacent court building. 4 The weighted caseload method uses time to measure workload and is based on the assumption that the more time required to adjudicate a particular case type, the greater the workload. The core workload assessment is a time study wherein judicial officers monitor the amount of time they spend on various case types by activity and on non-case responsibilities such as meetings, work-related travel, administrative duties, and continuing judicial education. A further step requires an assessment of how much time, on average, is available annually to judicial officers to do their work. 5 Twelve issue papers were developed on court decentralization, collegial chambers and shared courtrooms, court calendaring, juvenile/adult court separation, courtroom technology, Internet customer service, statewide technology initiatives, night court, civil and family mediation, parking, security, and jury management. Many programs and support staff over the last 50+ years were moved piecemeal from the Polk County Courthouse to allow adjudication services to grow, the central function of any trial court. In doing so, the justice system became functionally disorganized. 2 Internal inefficiencies in work processes and public confusion in conducting business at the historic courthouse were widespread. Numerous efforts by community, county, and court leaders to renovate the courthouse and construct new court facilities failed. 3 To sort out options for the inevitable growth of the court, the Polk County Board contracted with the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) to identify viable pathways and choices in lieu of a new building. The final decisions were left to the funding body the county in collaboration with the court. The first step in any court space plan, even a strategy that avoids new construction, is to estimate future trial court growth by looking at past population and case-filing trends, the primary drivers of court expansion. They, in turn, largely condition staffing and facility needs and lead to the creation of a set of evidence-based predictions (often conveyed in best fit ranges) regarding judicial position needs over the next years, which, in turn, drive the number of courtrooms, chambers, and support staff. In Iowa, it was also helpful to factor in the state s weighted caseload, a sophisticated, scientific way to assess the average time it takes a judicial officer (i.e., district judge, associate district judge, or magistrate judge) in different settings (urban or rural) to adjudicate a specific case type (i.e., felony, traffic, probate, small claims, etc.) from filing to disposition. 4 Courts, like many complex, process-oriented organizations, are not easily modified. By analyzing all three measures population, case-filing trends, and Iowa s weighted caseload NCSC researchers developed a reasonable estimate of the number of needed judgeships by 2030, the future projection target. Interestingly, the district court in Polk County has rarely had the number of judicial officers any of these measures have concluded are necessary. Contentious Questions and Best Practices Set the Stage for a New Direction NCSC developed a series of issue papers based on past controversies and disputes about court space. Highly charged topics that clouded debates over past failed bond referendums, such as whether night court or decentralization could relieve space congestion at the historic courthouse, were examined. Doubts over new space-saving techniques recommended by NCSC, including collegial chambers and shared courtrooms, were addressed. Planned statewide, judicial-branch high-tech directions and services that could reduce courthouse space needs and increase efficiencies (e.g., e-filing) were factored into the final package of space strategies. Several suggestions required changes in the traditional business practices and culture within the district court. Courts, like many complex, process-oriented organizations, are not easily modified. The issue papers provided a way for county, court, and community leaders to grapple with ways to conserve space; streamline day-to-day court operations; and create a workable, shared commitment regarding needed physical space, with an agreed-upon set of strategies on how to get there. 5 It meant a willingness on the part of the court, as the tenant, and the county, as the landlord, to 122 Trends in State Courts 2016

4 Overall Court Improvements develop an acceptable, economical way to expand court facilities to meet their joint obligations to the public, short of a new courthouse. It also meant a new, collective vision on how to tackle the court s ever-growing space problems. Effective visions can certainly be bold, but they also must be realistic and credible. When grounded in a clear, rational understanding of an organization, its environment, and the array of trends pushing it toward the future, a vision becomes much more compelling to those who must spearhead it. Strategies, then, are easier to construct and assemble to accomplish the vision. No major change or organization-wide improvements can be realized without these intertwined components. Most often, the first draft of a realistic, credible, engaging vision comes from a small group of people with a broad perspective, seasoned understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing an organization, and a passion to improve, even if it means taking some sizable risks. That is what happened next in Des Moines. Effective visions can certainly be bold, but they also must be realistic and credible. A Charrette Builds a Forward- Thinking Vision toward an Adaptive Reuse Plan A daylong charrette (retreat) involving top court and county leaders was facilitated by NCSC at a remote county location to develop a first-cut preferred vision and optional strategies to address district-court-space expansion. A charrette is a final intensive effort to conclude a project, especially an architectural design effort, before a deadline. 6 Charrettes promote collaboration and joint ownership of solutions, attempt to diffuse confrontational attitudes, and integrate the ideas and interests of a diverse group of people, most frequently major stakeholders in a project. New building solutions were off the table. NCSC consultants presented a series of choices embracing the issue papers, space projections, and available, viable government and private office space in the downtown area for court functions. After substantial discussion, four interrelated options gained traction. 6 Charrette is French for cart or carriage. In the 16th through the 18th centuries, when travel took long periods, a charrette referred to a long carriage ride in which politicians and policymakers would be sequestered together in a final attempt to work through a set of problems during their journey. Adaptive Reuse of Old Buildings for New Court Functions in Polk County, Iowa 123

5 Renovate the outdated, largely unused Old Main Jail across the street from the Polk County Courthouse as a new, repurposed Criminal Courts Building for adult misdemeanor and felony case processing. The Old Main Jail had been used for years as a staging area to temporarily house pretrial inmates for court appearances. Prisoners are transported daily by the sheriff from a new County Adult Detention Center located some ten miles from the courthouse and walked through an underground tunnel to the courthouse. First appearances take place in a courtroom at the detention center to reduce excessive transportation requirements. Acquire and reuse a nearby former JC Penney department store as a Justice Center to house various court and related functions. The Penney building had been occupied and revamped by Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, which had moved to a new headquarters building in Des Moines. Wellmark had installed stateof-the-art digital infrastructure during their stay at the Penney Building an added incentive for the court and county. Move juvenile court functions from the Polk County Courthouse to separate adult and juvenile court activities as encouraged by best practices. All acknowledged that adjudicating juveniles and adults in the old courthouse, with marginal sight-and-sound separation and few support-service accommodations for children, created serious safety concerns. Restore and modernize the Polk County Courthouse as a civil courts building. Probate, family court, guardianships, conservatorships, mediation, business court, civil disputes, jury assembly, court administration, and civil-based clerk-of-court functions would be housed there. NCSC s recommendations targeted eight interrelated goals. As key objectives for space planning, they provided a foundation upon which these four options rested. Fundamental Space-Planning Goals for the District Court in Polk County 1 Utilize existing county-owned space for justice system operations; reduce dependence on leased space. 2 Functionally use the Old Main Jail for criminal-case-adjudication processes. 3 Keep core criminal/civil-adjudication functions on a downtown campus within close proximity. 4 Separate juvenile- and adult-adjudication functions; colocate juvenile system partners nearby. 5 Locate civil matters and related functions exclusively in a renovated historic Polk County Courthouse. 6 Vacate portions of the historic Polk County Courthouse and phase its restoration as the last adaptive reuse step. 7 Ensure facilities can accommodate long-term justice system growth to the year Promote design flexibility and cost-savings through shared, multiple-use spaces throughout all facilities. 124 Trends in State Courts 2016

6 Overall Court Improvements Policymakers React Positively and Voters Pass an Adaptive Reuse Plan The Polk County Board of Supervisors and the district court agreed to pursue and build on the adaptive reuse plan and objectives developed by NCSC. The county retained OPN Architects, a local Iowa firm noted for their public-buildingdesign proficiency and creativity, to examine and flesh-out construction feasibility and space programming in a phase II study. NCSC became a consultant to OPN in that process. The OPN/NCSC team, in early 2011, confirmed the adaptive reuse plan was practical and cost-effective. In addition, the phase II study established that reconstruction of the Old Main Jail could provide more criminal courtroom growth beyond 2030 than originally anticipated. A phase III study followed to cost out and program the remaining components of NCSC s plan: the adaptive reuse of the Justice Center and Polk County Courthouse. Juvenile court functions would be relocated and separated from adult adjudications at the Justice Center for the foreseeable future. In May 2013, the county board accepted NCSC and OPN s master plan. In July, the board authorized an $81 million referendum vote for November 5, 2013, to fund the plan. The ballot measure passed overwhelmingly, with 67 percent voting in favor. Three Buildings, Four Stages, Five Years The acquisition of the Justice Center through a land swap between the county and Wellmark permitted a number of early dominos to fall into place as stage I of the needed changes. The county attorney s office and clerk of courts record-storage functions moved into renovated Justice Center space, saving $582,000 a year in lease costs, and an exterior restoration of the historic courthouse was completed in Stage II is currently in process to transform the remaining floors and exterior of the former department store/office building into a modern Justice Center for juvenile, traffic, and small claims-courts. The Justice Center will have a positive impact on the lives of children and families in Iowa, District Court Chief Judge Arthur Gamble recently reported, Children and families will no longer share corridors and waiting space with adults charged with violent crimes. The new space will have separate conference space for private meetings with juveniles, parents, lawyers, juvenile court officers and social workers as well as courtrooms configured especially for children. The Justice Center is scheduled to open in Stage III will renovate the Old Main Jail into a five-story Criminal Courts Building, noted Judge Gamble. The footprint of the building will cover approximately one half of a city block. Each floor will have space for three courtrooms. High volume misdemeanor and felony courts will be located on the lower floors. Negotiation and staging areas will be located outside high volume courtrooms to remove plea discussions from the courtroom enhancing the decorum of court proceedings. Trial courtrooms with secure attorney-client conference areas will be developed so lawyers can have private conversations with their clients rather than holding discussions in the courtroom as is the current practice. The Criminal Division of the Clerk s Office, six district associate judges, four district judges and staff will be housed in the building. The Justice Center will have a positive impact on the lives of children and families in Iowa Children and families will no longer share corridors and waiting space with adults charged with violent crimes. District Court Chief Judge Arthur Gamble Adaptive Reuse of Old Buildings for New Court Functions in Polk County, Iowa 125

7 7 Originally, the 1906 courthouse was designed to function with four courtrooms. Today, the district court operates 28 courtrooms countywide, most of them shoehorned into inadequate courthouse space. Construction will begin in 2016 upon the completion of the Justice Center. The Criminal Courts Building is projected to open in late Stage IV targets the renovation of the Polk County Courthouse. It will be rehabilitated to accommodate the 21st-century demands of probate, family law, and civil litigation, complete with high-tech litigation features. Civil disputes will no longer be resolved in antiquated courtrooms too small for their trials. 7 Overcrowding will be relieved; the building will be brought up to code; and court security will be enhanced. A jury assembly area will be located on the ground floor that will serve the Criminal Courts Building as well. The civil division of the clerk s office, court administration, 13 district judges, one associate probate judge, and support staff will have offices in the renovated facility. There will be chamber space to accommodate senior (retired) judges who return to handle cases and several courtrooms set aside for future growth. Projected completion of the restored historic courthouse is late The end result will be an integrated Polk County Justice Campus of three interrelated court buildings, thoughtfully designed and The real value of the Polk County experience, however, is the idea that there are creative ways to address justice system space and facility issues aside from designing and building new structures from scratch. with convenient, complementary services for the public. By transforming unused, vacant buildings near the Historic Court House, 126 Trends in State Courts 2016

8 Overall Court Improvements Renderings of the Justice Center and Polk County Criminal Courts Building Polk County Bar Association President Nathan Overberg agrees: Lawyers in the County are extremely excited to see the changes taking place. It s a smart, efficient plan that solves a dire need for much better court space. and renovating the Court House itself, we re not only helping to beautify and revitalize the downtown business district, observed Dave Hill, OPN associate architect and project director, but we ll simultaneously provide the Court and County with a more functional, modern-day work environment, and the public with more inviting, safe and comfortable space. Local government leaders and the practicing bar are pleased with these new directions, too. The project has been very successful, Tom Hockensmith, chairman of the Polk County Board of Supervisors, recently said. By using older, unused buildings and documenting the efficiencies in doing so, along with economizing space in them, both the voters and County Board were able to hit it out of the park with this new approach to a long-term problem. Adaptive reuse approaches have been employed by courts, cities, and counties in other parts of the country on a limited scale, such as rehabbing a small shopping center for use as a probation day-reporting facility in Phoenix, or modifying city council chambers for municipal court proceedings in Missouri. Rarely, however, has it been done to the degree that occurred in Polk County. Some may say the Des Moines story is unique, a one-off arrangement that has little relevance for the broader court community. Skepticism often occurs when new ideas and directions surface. The real value of the Polk County experience, however, is the idea that there are creative ways to address justice system space and facility issues aside from designing and building new structures from scratch. Polk County and Iowa s Fifth Judicial District found ways to adapt several older buildings into an innovative campus for a brighter future. It may not be feasible for courts and justice facilities in all settings, but it certainly presents an option worth exploring when new construction is out of reach. Adaptive Reuse of Old Buildings for New Court Functions in Polk County, Iowa 127

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