The Municipal Court Fights Back

On July 29th, Columbus Mayor Andy Ginther announced that the plans for constructing a new Municipal Court building were canceled. He said that the current building at 375 South High Street would be renovated instead.

But today, the Court is challenging that decision. In a ten page press release dated August 12th, the Court lays out its reasons why the decision to cancel the new building is irresponsible and impractical. The Court's public information officer confirmed that the press release is from the bench as a whole.

Highlighted in the release are serious safety issues with the current building, including hazards like elevator entrapments; a fire alarm panel seven years past its fifteen year design life; plumbing leaks; and pest infestations.

The Court raises the disturbing fact that there is no secure corridor or holding area for people in custody within the building, which Court security and the Franklin County Sheriff have reportedly ". . . identified as not viable in the long term, given the risk of escape, violence, or hostage-taking."

Earlier this year, the City of Columbus scrapped its plans to create an adaptive park with accessible amenities at McCoy Park due to having promised the land to the potential owners of a planned NWSL team.

In addition to that fiasco, I learned recently that the City is just now implementing changes to its digital resources to comply with ADA rules established in April of 2024. Since Columbus' deadline to comply with the rules is April 26, 2027, they are finally making the changes before someone can actually sue them for failing to do so.

All of that is to say that I was not surprised whatsoever to read in this release that "none of the Court's 26 courtrooms and facility restrooms allow unassisted entry. People with mobility issues who cannot navigate the Court's restrooms must travel to a nearby Franklin County building to find a [ADA] compliant restroom."

Does the City of Columbus actually hate disabled people or are the people making the decisions just so indifferent that it comes off that way?

In the war of Court versus Mayor, I am definitely on the side of the Court, and not just because I am a lawyer. I have not been inside the municipal courthouse very many times, but when I have, I have gotten lost just about every time. It is hands down the most confusing building I have been inside in this city.

If I wasn't already inclined to support a demand that the new courthouse be built as planned, I was convinced once I read this information from the press release: In 2012 and 2018, major courthouse renovation plans were created and never followed through on, primarily due to cost. Now the City is saying that it wants to go back to a plan it rejected due to cost eight years ago, even though costs have risen precipitously since then.

With the current city budget shortfall, scrapping this fully funded plan for a less expensive renovation plan essentially makes $75 million dollars appear out of thin air. And the only people who have to deal with the consequences are 300 or so Judges and court staff. That is, if you don't count the generally poorer and less politically powerful people who tend to have legal matters before the Municipal Court.