Mold cleanup delay takes toll on federal court

[Guest guest]

Mold cleanup delay takes toll on federal court

By Bill

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/200

5/04/21/m1a_courthouse_0421.html

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Thursday, April 21, 2005

U.S. District Judge T.K. Hurley was about to impose a federal

prison sentence on a woman convicted of drug trafficking when he got

an

urgent message on the bench: Her family had flown in from the

Bahamas to

speak on her behalf, but there was a problem.

They were waiting at the federal courthouse in West Palm Beach. No

one

told them that the courthouse at 701 Clematis St. had been closed

and the

sentencing had been moved to Fort Lauderdale.

Graulich/The Post

Federal court matters that were handled in West Palm Beach have been

moved to Fort Pierce, Fort Lauderdale and Miami.

Hurley delayed the sentencing for two hours while the family drove

to the

alternate courthouse.

The sentencing confusion is just one of the problems federal judges,

other

court personnel and lawyers have faced in the five months since the

West

Palm Beach building has been closed because of hurricane-related

mold

contamination that poses health risks.

Of particular concern to federal officials who use the 32-year-old

courthouse is that it has sat empty since Nov. 19 with no work done

to

clean up the mold. Those efforts appear to be mired in bureaucratic

red

tape.

Federal court matters normally handled in West Palm Beach are being

decided in Fort Pierce, Fort Lauderdale and Miami.

That means judges, prosecutors and public defenders are spending

hours

on the road trying to get to trials and court hearings throughout

Florida's

Southern District. U.S. marshals, who act as bailiffs to protect

judges and

transport prisoners, also are affected.

That costs money as well as time. Judges and lawyers are staying in

hotels

while trials are held far from their homes. The legal commuters are

spending more on gasoline at a time when prices are soaring.

Federal court officials, meanwhile, have rented more than 20,000

square

feet at the Forum buildings on Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard to serve

as

temporary administrative offices. They have not disclosed the cost

of the

18-month lease.

Chief U.S. District Judge J. Zloch and Court Administrator

Clarence Maddox did not return calls requesting information on the

strain

and cost to the court system and on when the West Palm Beach

courthouse might reopen.

Hurley just ended a two-week stint living out of a hotel in Fort

Lauderdale

at a cost of $500 a week, he said.

" The kinds of problems we're encountering, they're really

staggering, " he

said.

After Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne, mold surfaced in the bankruptcy

section of the courthouse. Employees complained of headaches and

sinus

problems.

Zloch ordered the building closed after tests showed mold

contamination.

At the time, federal officials said the cleanup would take two

months.

Last week, officials of the Palm Beach County chapter of the Federal

Bar

Association asked U.S. Rep. Clay Shaw, R-Fort Lauderdale, to

intervene.

Shaw, attending the organization's meeting to explain his proposal

to divide

the Southern District into two parts, promised to look into the

matter and

expedite the courthouse's opening.

U.S. District Judge Don Middlebrooks said his staff is trying to

take the

stress in stride. The difficulty, from his perspective, is that

there appears to

be no clear time frame for cleanup to begin.

" The only thing I've heard is that it could take six months to a

year, " said

Middlebrooks, who has been commuting to Miami for trials.

Court administrator Maddox has been working with officials from the

federal General Services Administration to bring some resolution to

the

problem, Middlebrooks said. The GSA is responsible for the federal

government's buildings and leases.

In February, federal officials relocated the court administration

based in

West Palm Beach to the Forum buildings at 1655 Palm Beach Lakes

Blvd.

The federal court is using two floors, totaling 20,503 square feet.

Federal officials also have used the Palm Beach County Courthouse,

which houses county and state court operations. But limited space

there

hindered efforts to keep as much judicial work as possible in West

Palm

Beach.

Logistically, creating a mobile federal judiciary is taxing the

system,

according to judges, prosecutors and public defenders.

" The staff is spending a tremendous amount of time on the road, "

said

Assistant U.S. Attorney Andy Lourie, the chief assistant for the

West Palm

Beach office, which has 25 lawyers. " People are working harder and

having to become more efficient. "