Courthouse woes motivate county
BY FRANKLIN HAYES Gulf Breeze News franklin@gulfbreezenews.com

Franklin Hayes/Gulf Breeze News Circuit Judge Ron Swanson pulled back a copy machine in his assistant's office to reveal a large patch of wall rot. The 80-year-old building is inundated with safety and space problems in addition to being deemed non-ADA compliant.

Of all the issues relating to the Santa Rosa County courthouse, there is one that all parties involved agree on: something needs to be done quickly.

Imagine walking within arm's length of inmates being sentenced to additional jail terms. Imagine the Jerry Springer-type atmosphere that erupts when an angry prisoner is subject to adjudication in a courtroom where the chairs are not bolted to the floor. Those are just two small examples of problems that plague the more than 80-year-old Santa Rosa County Courthouse.

"At some points it's very hard when we have 20 inmates in the hallways and we have to walk the judges by," said Sheriff's Deputy Rickie Cotton, who is second in command of court security. "It's like walking the judges through a gauntlet."

The building's basement, which houses the maintenance department and a makeshift courtroom, is subject to occasional flooding during rainstorms. Flooding in that area is so prominent that maintenance crews installed a four-inch riser in order to keep vital network and video cables dry in one room.

Court personnel are cramped into tight working quarters rampant with an unidentified, paint-eating substance and haunted by unpredictable air conditioning.

On Tuesday, Jan. 16, courthouse employees had to process 200 defendants in a courtroom permitted to seat 120 people.

"Those 200 people are just defendants. That doesn't count lawyers, mothers and fathers that have the right to come with them," said Circuit Judge Ron Swanson.

Swanson and his staff developed a letter outlining the gamut of problems facing the staff at the courthouse. The judge appeared before the county commission and urged its members to move quickly to remedy the situation.

"It's either shut down the court system or build a new courthouse," Swanson said.

To top it all off, county officials recently received a letter from the local chapter of the Center for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The letter, penned by local CIL chapter Executive Director Frank Cherry and coaddressed to Florida Supreme Court Justice Chief Justice Fred Lewis and the Santa Rosa County Commission, said the building violates Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Article 504 of the Rehab Act, Florida Constitution Article I, Section II and the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits denial of access to the courts and equal protection of the law. The document lists bathrooms, water fountains, courtrooms, vending machines and discriminatory policies and practices as offending factors that could lead to legal action against the county.

"Perhaps the most egregious violation is the scheduling of hearings for persons who use wheelchairs in a courtroom that is located at the bottom of a flight of stairs," the letter states. "People with disabilities are forced to leave their wheelchairs at the top of the stairs while a deputy, or others who are available to assist, bodily carry them up and down the stairs. The United States Supreme Court in the landmark case of Tennessee vs. Lane, held that the state of Tennessee could be sued for punitive damages for similar practices as a violation of Title II of the ADA and denial of access to the courts."

Santa Rosa County Commissioners are now trying to grapple with the ominous courthouse dilemma and recently compiled a list of 13 possible locations for a new building.

"When we get mandated, we as a commission lose the ability to say where, when and how," Commission Chairman Tom Stewart said in response to the possibility of litigation.

The most popular site with commissioners is located in East Milton close to the county jail. Commissioner Gordon Goodin said moving the facility closer to the jail would save funding currently used to transport inmates to the current courthouse in Milton, approximately four miles away. That parcel of land is also owned by the county, another important factor as Commissioner Goodin has said in previous meetings that he would not support spending tax dollars to acquire any parcel of land.

In 1998, commissioners developed a building design that was to be constructed in the same area as the current courthouse and was given a hefty $40 million price tag, said Commissioner W.D. "Don" Salter.

"The first building was in the wrong location, was too expensive and was a millstone around the commission's neck when they took that on," said Commissioner Goodin.

A referendum to fund the courthouse was overwhelmingly voted down by residents in 2002. In a recent committee meeting, Commissioner John Broxson suggested splitting the county's judicial center into two operations, one close to the jail for criminal cases, and one elsewhere for civil cases. Milton attorney T. Sol Johnson said he preferred the idea and said other Floridian counties such as Alachua, Pinellas and Dade had all taken similar measures with relative success.

"In overall consideration, it's worked well for those who've done that," he said, adding that he would also prefer to see some type of legal facility stay in downtown Milton.

"It will cause serious economic damage to downtown Milton if they move from that location," said Johnson, who claims 43 years of experience of practicing law in Milton. "It would be an economic bust for downtown Milton."

However, not all agree that the court system could run efficiently or effectively in two separate locations. Commissioner Robert "Bob" Cole said two court facilities would double the cost of security. Judge Swanson said his personnel are more generalized and splitting them up would make operation more difficult.

"We're jacks of all trades here," Swanson said. "Duplicating support staff and court security in both locations would not be effective."

County commissioners scheduled a workshop Jan. 22 at the conclusion of their regularly scheduled committee of the whole meeting to discuss placement of a new courthouse.

Salter issued a piece of advice for his fellow commissioners saying: "Don't take your eye off the ball. If you do, you're still going to be talking about building a courthouse 10 years from now."