Making a Better Building for the People of King County
By Richard Eadie
My wife and I went for a walk one evening during a trip to a large eastern city. We were returning to our hotel along a major arterial. We entered a block that was completely taken up by a large, grayish building, looking quite run-down. The outer walls were dirty. The windows were dirty. Some had cardboard on the inside; some had cracks; some had security bars over them. Between the sidewalk and the building was a strip, about two feet wide where grass was struggling to grow. It was patchy and full of weeds. A group of rats --large ones--I think there were three, ran and hopped along the ground between us and the building, then disappeared into the dark in front of us. We approached the middle of the building where there was a small set of concrete stairs, two or three steps up to a small porch, with pipe handrails on either side. At the top of the steps were double aluminum frame doors with frosted glass inserts. On the glass the words “Family Court.”
I can’t imagine what it is like to work in that building every day, and what it communicates to the people, probably mostly poor, who come to the court for help with their families and children. They must know that we, as a society, don’t care much about them or their problems. And the employees must know that their county must consider them to be among the least important of the county employees; that the work they do is not so important.
I could contrast this with the new federal courthouse being built just a couple of blocks away in that city--but the people who come to Family Court probably don’t even know that the federal court, the home of “class action litigation,” is even there.
This past March 30 we had a reception at the King County Courthouse to mark the end of the seismic retrofit project that has absorbed so much of our time and attention for more than two years, recognized improvements that have been made during this process, and some of the individuals who worked so hard to keep the disruption of the retrofit to a minimum. During the project 3,250 tons of concrete were poured, twenty new shear walls built, 1,000 tons of steel added and 38,000 holes drilled for the reinforcing steel.
One improvement that should be of interest to trial lawyers is our new jury assembly room on the first floor. For the first time in nearly twenty years, all of our jurors will report within one room. The room will be comfortable and clean, and it should be easier to get to the courtroom floors by elevator because jurors who are not assigned to a trial will not need to use the elevators.
Speaking of elevators, all should be on-line at the time this article is published, including the two “new” elevators that we acquired by conversion of the manually operated elevators. With new control systems, they should be running more quickly and efficiently than before.
Torn carpeting and stained floors in courtrooms have been repaired, walls have been painted and damaged window coverings have been replaced. Just as important, the Facilities Management Depart-ment has assured us that the courthouse, both in-side and out, will be maintained in a clean and sanitary condition.
Probably the most visible change in the courthouse is the beautifully refurbished lobby, the plaque marking the building as the courthouse of Martin Luther King, Jr. County, the murals and the terrazzo flooring.
These visual improvements are important--it is important for our employees to come to a clean courthouse, where its care and appearance reflect the importance that is placed on their work. It is important that we have a respectable courthouse for our jurors, whose contribution of time and effort is so important to our system of justice. A decent courthouse tells them that their work is important. And it is important for lawyers and their clients who come to the courthouse to seek resolution of matters of importance to them. A decent, clean courthouse communicates the importance that we put on the system we have to resolve their claims.
It has been quite a long time that we have been working through this retrofit and refurbishing process, but the results not only make our courthouse a safer place to be, but a courthouse that more clearly reflects the importance of the work that is done here.
Richard Eadie is the Presiding Judge of the King County Superior Court.
