Judge José Luis Castillo Jr. laid out stacks of paper Monday morning as he prepared for trial in his new nest.
A short time later at 9:15 a.m., Courtroom 404 would be host to the first-ever jury trial in the new Consolidated Justice Courthouse at the Pima County Public Service Center, 240 N. Stone Ave. — a 272,000-square-foot county complex.
The county vacated the historical courthouse on North Church Avenue with its iconic pink exterior and dome structure, which officials said could not support today’s capacity and functions, as it was designed in the 1920s to support the needs of that time.
Castillo’s courtroom was mostly empty on the first day at the new building, with chairs that have never been sat on and tables that have never been used. He put a familiar touch by setting up pictures of his three children on the judge’s bench.
The aesthetics are decidedly more modern than those of the old courthouse and his former Courtroom 8, otherwise known as the Dillinger courtroom as the site of the trial of John Dillinger and his gang in January 1934.
“I feel nostalgic, but I’ll adjust,” Castillo said.
The new building is seven stories tall and has two basement levels. It houses courtrooms on four floors to handle the approximately 140,000 cases filed at the Justice Court in a year, with more than 500,000 people passing through the security checkpoint.
“I love the old courthouse, but everything was so cramped in there,” said Doug Kooi, the Consolidated Justice Court administrator.
The Public Service Center, soon to be home also to the county’s treasurer, constable, Assessor’s Office and Recorder’s Office, is an improvement in every sense, Kool said.
In the old building, members of the jury and the public often only had standing room only and sometimes had to sit on the floor while waiting, he said. The only jury deliberation room was also used as a conference room, and four restrooms were shared by hundreds of people each day.
The new building accommodates larger courtrooms, attorney-client rooms, jury-deliberation rooms, modern security and technology, two security lanes instead of one, and an area where vulnerable victims and children can rest. A parking garage with 690 spots, with public spaces on the north and east sides of the building, are also set to be completed in the future, he added.
The additions at the new Justice Courthouse were both necessary and overdue, said Stu De Haan, a Tucson defense attorney who regularly worked at the old building. The lack of capacity at the old building did not allow for a professional environment.
One addition he’s particularly fond of is the attorney-client rooms.
“From a defense attorney’s perspective, the attorney rooms are very important,” he said. “In the old courthouse, you couldn’t even get out of the earshot of witnesses and jurors.”
Although the move to the Public Service Center was an upgrade, court officials and judges said the old courthouse is an important piece of Tucson’s history and that it will be dearly missed by many. In commission since 1929, the domed building designed by architect Roy Place is a Tucson icon and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
“Hopefully, they don’t destroy it,” Judge Castillo said.
The county will use the old courthouse as a temporary home for its senior administration and the Board of Supervisors while its administration building goes through asbestos abatement. In the future, the plan is to use the building as a museum and a memorial for the Jan. 8, 2011, shooting victims.
“Our old courthouse was tired,” Judge Paul Simon said after a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the transition. It was designed in a much different time to serve much different needs. He said the move is a wonderful thing for not just the staff but also the community.
“I’m going to miss the old building,” Judge Carmen Dolny said. “But this is going to be better.”
