Will the courthouse of the future include a cinematographer and urban text slang translator? In this Q&A, three talented AAJ speakers were interviewed on their perspective on “business unusual” in the ecosystem of justice architecture. How can change occur in an industry where precedent is everything?
Robert (Bob) W. Schwartz FAIA, LEED AP BD+C, HOK
Over 30 years in the business of designing justice facilities and participation on national committees such as the Courthouse Access Advisory Committee advising the U.S. Access Board, the GSA Independent Court Panel on Courthouse Cost, as well as the AAJ/InfoComm committee developing audio visual and information technology guidelines for courthouses.
Michael E. Smith AIA, Nacht & Lewis
Over 30 years in the business of designing public safety architecture throughout the United States and active APCO member.
Lorenzo Lopez AIA, LEED AP, Nacht & Lewis
Over 20 years in the business of designing justice facilities, focusing on planning, code compliance, and sustainability. He is a leading member of the I-3 task force of the California Building Code and has chaired both the AAJ conference in 2011 and the Justice Facilities Review jury in 2012. Lorenzo is currently a member of the AAJ Advisory Group and is on the AAJ Sustainability Committee.
Q: A majority of the AAJ courses focus on innovation of project delivery and contracts; can we imagine innovation in justice delivery and how can architects play a role in that type of change?
“They have to,” says Schwartz, “Everyone is strapped for funding and can’t afford to do things as they did in the past.” Schwartz brought up a quick example of 30,000 s.f. of hard document file storage at $350 s.f., costing over 10 million dollars, a cost saved instantly by switching over to digital file storage. Still there is a bit of work needed upfront to agree on standardization of digital documents; court document must remain intact and accessible at all costs.
Mike Smith was cautious to note, “We have to be careful not to imagine that we are subject matter experts in the process, but we can suggest ways to support that process.” Frequently, as architects, we think of ourselves as “social engineers”.
Smith made note of the economy’s effect on change. It has forced government to “rethink how they deliver services” which is a positive thing. “It has gotten us out of a rut” government has more initiative to become more efficient and effective with taxpayer dollars.
Lopez responded, “Architect’s can play a huge role. We have a unique perspective …we can be brokers of understanding between overlapping departments and justice partners.” Many architects serve multiple clients from courts, to corrections, to law enforcement and 911 communication centers. That experience forms a unique perspective of a much bigger picture of the justice system that can be leveraged.
Q: Do you see a trend in courts and law enforcement technology leading the design and operations of our justice system, or supporting existing modes of operations?
“Supporting – to make an existing process faster and more sustainable,” Schwartz responded. Schwartz brought up an interesting side effect technology can have on human perception. For example, a defendant who is present in a courtroom via video conferencing must be carefully composed and lit within the video image, as the quality of a visual image on screen can indirectly inform human perception and response. The ACLU is currently investigating the effects of video arraignment within the justice system.
Lopez noted California recently completed a study on traffic court trials being run remotely; “it’s good that they are looking at alternatives,” said Lopez. “Technology is being integrated, but it is slow to change the practice of delivering justice- there are many precedents to overcome.”
Smith believes technology both leads and supports the big picture. “Methods of communication can allow for immediate responses to events and data for analysis- that will make law enforcement more effective. At the same time there is now a flood of new information that needs to be dealt with.” Smith cited the federal mandate that all states formulate operational procedures to deal with 911 calls via text-messaging. “That is a huge change in operational procedures. There are nuances in phone calls that don’t come through in texting,” while there are opportunities texting can afford in a dangerous situation, such as audio silence. “There is a mix of things and the real question is what type of impacts will it have on existing infrastructure,” and we have to ask “how will it affect existing facilities?”
“The Amber Alert text many of us received a few weeks ago, that is a perfect example of new technology affecting operations,” says Smith. He also noted a program that Dutch law enforcement officials have been using; a similar method of blasting text information about local robberies to cell phone users in an area, turning each cell phone holding human into a localized surveillance node.
Q: Do you see any hurdles to overcome (culturally speaking) in terms of acceptance of innovation in the justice architecture?
“There always are. It’s just human nature,” Smith responded.
“Precedent is difficult to overcome,” Lopez responded, in a cautious yet optimistic tone. “Every time you do something new in court you open yourself up to an appeal. Judges are very conservative in the way that they run their courtrooms out of necessity. There will come a time when people will become more comfortable with technology and perhaps economics and travel distance will trump those hurdles.”
Schwartz noted the intrinsic little tech quirks that become major roadblocks. “Electronic signatures are a big question, is a jpeg or a pdf?" What will people be able to open 150 years from now…The quality and accessibility must be equal for all, it must be presented equally to ensure every case receives the same care.” Schwartz also noted innovation in training the justice industry workers is just as important as selecting a file format. As an example of training innovation, Schwartz cited the Courtroom 21 effort where a full-scale mock courtroom of the future exists for vendors to test equipment and law students can get training on the latest courts technology. A great resource for the courts to innovate from a bottom up perspective.
“Why do we have a law library? How long will those be around?” Schwartz asks. The cost of keeping a library updated and staffed versus the option to have a flexible collaborative space where digital data searching occurs. Besides the cost benefit and space savings, digital file storage is beneficial because multiple people can have access to information at the same time, instantly. That could have a positive effect on speeding up case flow.
Q: The identity of justice in our culture is strongly tied to narratives in media and entertainment. Is there a movie or tv show about the justice ecosystem that has stuck in your head?
Schwartz: “Judge Dread, where the policeman is the judge. The futuristic aspects of the movie are fascinating. Hopefully we will do a better job of keeping justice system honest and equal in the future”.
Smith: “I just watched a Colombo episode on TV last night. The appeal of that is that there is an immediate and complete resolution to every problem. Life isn’t always that clean”.
Lopez: “Shawshank Redemption has been one of my top movies of all time. It’s a reminder that the people inside have a story. We must make sure we do not institutionalize them- make them dependent on the prison system. Whether people want to believe it or not, the majority of these individuals will someday be released. We must make sure when they do get out, they have job opportunities and understand how to survive outside of the prison environment”.
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