Gaveling in the New Year on West Nueva By Matthew Carpenter
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This photo captures two key pieces of art designed for the atrium of the new courthouse. The hanging, colored glass sculpture is the artist’s nod to the scales of justice, and the large rectangular painting in the background is the artist’s tribute to the San Pedro Creek location, where the courthouse was built. 12 San Antonio Lawyer® | sabar.org
fter forty-six years of dedicated public service, the John H. Wood, Jr. United States Courthouse in San Antonio has seen its last day of court. The iconic building that hosted events during the 1968 World’s Fair in Hemisfair Park has gone through many changes over the years. Officially dedicated as the federal district courthouse in November 1975, it has seen several infamous cases come and go. In recent years, however, the building has struggled to remain habitable due to structural challenges that are well documented. Since the building was not intended to operate as a courthouse, it is an impressive feat for it to have stood as long as it has. The list of issues with the physical infrastructure grew in recent years, as have other issues that affect effective operation. As trial practices have modernized in the past twenty years, the site fought to remain current and meet the technology needs of attorneys, judges, and the public. It has been clear for quite some time that no amount of work in the existing space would enable the court to meet those needs in full. After more than a decade of work to secure funding and location, the project to build a new federal courthouse in San Antonio is finally complete. With the new year, comes new opportunity on 262 West Nueva Street. The doors to the new federal courthouse officially opened to the public on January 3, 2022. This state-of-the-art building offers a fresh perspective in many ways, but none as seismic as the technology it affords to all parties. The new courthouse is home to multiple federal agencies, all of which benefit from the modernization effort. In the design process, it was important for us to use the experience of attorneys in court who navigated the limitations the Wood courthouse presented. This is the same approach taken in projects throughout the Western District of Texas. For example, these efforts are in line with recent projects to modernize the historic courtroom in Waco and the district courtroom in Del Rio. Using features implemented in these projects and key input from various parties, the San Antonio courthouse is the district’s most advanced offering to date. From complex litigation matters that have significant public interest to recent challenges with the pandemic, many factors were taken into consideration to implement technology to meet current and future needs in the courtroom. In the new courthouse, there are eight courtrooms. Five are for district judges. Two are for magistrate judges, and one is a special proceedings courtroom. New standards in national policy require courts to be prepared for courtroom sharing. This can present challenges in a growing division like San Antonio. How can the court be agile enough to meet the courthouse’s future needs with limited resources? This was a prime consideration in the design process, leading us to push for all of the technology offerings in all of the courtrooms to be equal. Although not every proceeding needs it, we implemented all of what we will cover in this article in every courtroom. Whether you are a court employee, an attorney, a party, a juror, or the public, your experience will be the same.
