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Chief Judge: Don't Build Partial Courthouse

POSTED: Wednesday, August 10, 2005

The latest proposal for building a new Duval County Courthouse could be derailed, after the top judge said the whole process should stop until enough money can be found to build a full-service facility.

Courthouse Model
A model of the original courthouse project before spiraling costs and controversy caused Mayor Peyton to halt the project last year.
Last month, Mayor John Peyton proposed a plan to build a 388,000-square-foot criminal courthouse on city-owned property west of downtown, but only lay the foundation for an adjoining civil courthouse to be built when more money is allocated.

Peyton said that was the best option while staying within the $268 million of construction funds available under the Better Jacksonville Plan.

Speaking Tuesday to joint city council committees overseeing the courthouse project, presiding judge Donald Moran said the whole project should be put on hold until there's enough money to build the entire courthouse complex.

Moran said the recommendation coming out of a meeting Monday of all the county's judges was to stay in the existing courthouse rather than separating criminal from civil divisions.

Council president Kevin Hyde told Channel 4 that a vote on the mayor's proposal was scheduled for Aug. 23, but given the feelings of Moran and the other judges, that will likely be delayed.

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