Courthouse construction in the Commonwealth.

• Author: Minton, John D., Jr.
• Position: Kentucky

Fifty years ago, Harry M. Caudill, a lawyer from Whitesburg, Kentucky, wrote the book Night Comes to the Cumberlands: A Biography of a Depressed Area. (1) The book brought national attention to Appalachia--a part of the country few Americans had ever considered--with bleak images of the economic and environmental damage plaguing the region. (2) In chapter sixteen, "From Bust to Boom Again," Caudill colorfully described the state of public facilities in Appalachia during the era following the Great Depression and World War II as being "deteriorated to a level so low they could scarcely be imagined as existing in a civilized country." (3)

Most significant to this article is Caudill's depiction of county courthouses, which he described as:

crumbling, dilapidated structures which would have been condemned as threats to public safety in any of the nation's major cities. Some leaked like sieves and all of them were tobacco-stained and filthy. Year after year they crumbled and moldered without even rudimentary maintenance. Their custody was vested in elected jailers who saw little need for windows clean enough to permit the sun's rays to filter through. (4) Unfortunately, Caudill's dreary description of county courthouses was not limited to the Appalachian region of Eastern Kentucky; nor was it limited to the post-war era of the late 1940s and 1950s. As recently as the past decade, many of Kentucky's decaying courthouses threatened the health and safety of the employees and public who entered the buildings each day. Among the most noteworthy anecdotes is a story about a courthouse that was without an operating restroom, forcing employees and the public to use the facilities across the street at a fast food restaurant. More than one courthouse lacked an elevator, requiring disabled litigants to be carried up the stairs to the courtroom. (5) One courthouse attic was so infested with pigeons that the ceiling collapsed under the weight of bird droppings.

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is home to 120 counties (6) within the 40,395 square miles of its borders. (7) Before it became a state in 1792, Kentucky was the westernmost county in Virginia. (8) So it was only natural that Kentucky, like Virginia, would "cling to [the] most English of governmental divisions"--the county. (9) Each county operates as its own governmental unit, run by officials elected by the voters of the county. From 1792 until 1976, each county also had its own court system, which, over time, resulted in a "patchwork of ... courts with overlapping jurisdiction, uneven justice around the state, and a growing backlog of appellate cases." (10)

In 1974, the Kentucky General Assembly took the bold move of reforming the court system through passage of the Judicial Article. (11) The measure transformed Kentucky's court system through a series of constitutional amendments that were approved by the voters in November 1975 and became law in 1976. (12) Most significant among the amendments was the change from a county-based court system to a unified, statewide system, with a central administrative office. The Chief Justice of the Commonwealth was deemed "the executive head of the Court of Justice," (13) with authority to delegate the supervision of court "accommodations" to the "administrative director of the courts or to his administrative assistants." (14) The Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts ("AOC") was created "to serve as the staff for the Chief Justice in executing the policies and programs of the Court of Justice." (15)

Before unification of the court system, counties were solely responsible for the construction and maintenance of court facilities. More than four hundred courthouses were built during this time, ranging in design from the original log structures of the late 1700s to the elaborate Italianate style architecture of the 1850s and the art deco, Public Works Administration buildings of the New Deal era. (16) During its history, Kentucky has lost approximately one hundred courthouses to disaster--"three to floods, one to a tornado, one to bombing, and the rest to fire." (17) Several buildings were damaged beyond repair during the Civil War, either as a result of occupation by federal troops or during Confederate General Hylan B. Lyon's march through western Kentucky, which left a path of burned courthouses in its wake. (18)

In 1976, the General Assembly passed the Court Facilities Act, which was designed as a partnership between local governments and the new Court of Justice. (19) The supervision of court facilities became the responsibility of the Chief Justice as the head of the Court of Justice. (20) That authority was delegated to the AOC, which established a facilities department to coordinate with counties on the construction, renovation, and maintenance of court facilities. (21) The 1977 and 1978 Kentucky General Assemblies followed up by enacting a series of statutes detailing the operation of court facilities and services. (22) This included the creation of the Court Facilities Standards Committee, which was charged with providing "periodic review of each court facility" and making "recommendations for improvements." (23)

Although the General Assembly transferred oversight of judicial facilities to the court system, the counties were, and still are, the owners of the buildings. (24) The counties issue bonds to pay for the cost of the capital construction and the Court of Justice pays operating costs (25) and a "use allowance" to cover the bond payments. (26) The amount paid is computed based on the Court of Justice's proportionate share of the occupation of the building. (27)

Despite this move to centralize oversight of judicial facilities, the reality over the next twenty years was that counties retained control over all details of courthouse construction and renovations--including location, design, and space requirements. There were no guidelines in place dictating minimum requirements for adequate judicial accommodations, meaning no uniform standards and little input from the judges, circuit court clerks, and employees occupying the buildings on a daily basis.

In the early 1990s, the Court of Justice undertook a modest program under the leadership of Chief Justice Robert F. Stephens to improve some judicial buildings across the Commonwealth. (28) The old county courthouses were built without consideration for the safety and security of building occupants. They also suffered from inadequate space and outdated mechanical and electrical systems. During this time, the improvements were limited to additions to existing buildings and the construction of a few small, freestanding courthouses.

Beginning in 1996, the Kentucky General Assembly specifically outlined court facility projects in the Judicial Branch budget and required construction of all court projects to be in compliance with the standards set by the National Center for State Courts ("NCSC"), a move urged by Chief Justice Stephens. (29) While this requirement "slowed the process a bit," (30) it also gave the AOC more control over the construction of new judicial centers by providing guidance and long-term planning for court space. (31) The biennial budget for fiscal years 1996-1998 included authorization for much-needed new construction and renovations in fourteen counties, including new judicial centers in four of Kentucky's most populous counties--Jefferson, Fayette, Kenton, and Warren. (32) The total bonded indebtedness for...