OTLA Trial Lawyer Fall 2020

5 Trial Lawyer • Fall 2020 representing the diverse make- up of our community. Multiple community presentations were held to obtain feedback. The Center for Procedural Justice conducted an assessment of the old courthouse. That assess- ment revealed obstacles to procedural justice in the old courthouse that helped us fur- ther procedural justice with the design of the new courthouse. We wanted the building itself to stand as a visual state- ment to our community’s com- mitment to an open and trans- parent justice system. To that end, glass is used throughout the building. The three-story lobby, the jury orientation room and the public hallways on each of the courtroom floors all have floor to ceiling glass walls overlooking the river. The public can see in and those in the build- ing can be seen. Smooth transition Coming to court is often anxiety producing given what is at stake for liti- gants — custody of children, compensa- tion for injuries, potential incarceration, the ability to maintain a business. During the design phase of the building, I would stand on the landing above the lobby and watch as people would struggle with a lack of understanding of what they needed to do to get through security, frustrated when there was no place to put themselves back together after clearing security and anxious as they tried to figure out where they needed to go. So, the entrance into the new courthouse is designed to alleviate that anxiety. Indi- viduals with mobility issues will be able to navigate the entrance. The new court- house was designed pre-COVID to allow up to eighty people to queue up inside the building, with room for more in the large covered area outside the building. Social distancing requirements will im- pact the number of people in the line but our hope is no one will have to wait in the elements to enter the building. The security area opens into a large lobby with benches to allow people to collect their belongings and get their shoes, belts and coats back on. There is an information desk in the lobby to assist people coming into the courthouse as well as large air- port-type displays and kiosks where in- dividuals can obtain information and direction. Our hope is to reduce the stress of merely entering the courthouse by providing information, space, light and reducing the physical challenges to navigation. To make navigation of the courthouse easier, the high use areas of the court- house are on the first few floors. The space for Court-Care has been increased, allowing more children to be served. Expansion of Court-Care will reduce the stress of parents having to attend to their court matter while also attending to the needs of their children. The highest vol- ume courtrooms (landlord-tenant, small claims, traffic and parking) are on the second floor of the historic portion of the building (formerly Jefferson Station). Kiosks and terminals will be located in the central customer service and high- volume courtroom area to allow persons not needing the assistance of a clerk to process business transactions quickly without waiting in line for a court clerk. In addition, the building has three sepa- rate pathways —one for judges and staff, one for the public and a third for persons in custody. No longer will shackled de- fendants be escorted through the public hallways. There is a holding area on the first floor with secure elevators to take those in custody directly to holding rooms off each courtroom. An obvious challenge to adequate access to justice is the ever-growing num- ber of self-represented litigants. Navigat- ing the court system without a lawyer is very difficult when, as one litigant ex- plained to me, you don’t even understand the language of the law let alone the procedures. While the court does not have the ability to appoint lawyers in civil, family law, landlord tenant and small claim cases, we have created a free See Courthouse p 6 The lobby of the newMultnomah County Courthouse during its construction in downtown Portland. The courthouse opened on October 5.