EDITORIAL: Let’s slow down on a new courthouse

The specter of the Regional Justice Center fiasco looms large over the push for a new Clark County courthouse — as well it should.

District Court judges are agitating for additional seats and a new home as the local population and caseloads rise. They have a reasonable case — although it might be stronger if one couldn’t find many courtrooms unoccupied during the late afternoon. Justice delayed is justice denied, as they say. It’s also costly for the litigants.

“Let’s say you file a civil lawsuit, we want you to be able to get a trial within 12 or 14 months,” Chief District Judge Jerry Wiese said. “Right now, because of the numbers that we have, it’s generally taking three to five years.”

Judge Wiese was rebuffed in Carson City recently when he urged lawmakers to allocate funds for 18 additional Clark County judges, 10 for civil and criminal cases and eight for Family Court. But the Clark County Commission seems more receptive. “If you look at the filings, the fines are up, they’re continually up, and it’s inevitable,” Commissioner Tick Segerblom told Channel 8 this month. “So let’s try to get ahead of the game.”

At Thursday’s commission meeting, Mr. Segerblom sought to move ahead with a committee to plan the design and development of a new courthouse. He met resistance from other members of the board, who argued that the first step should be to determine how much the taxpayers will be on the hook for the project. Given county history, they have a point.

In 1996, Clark County voters approved a bond issue for a handful of public projects, including the Regional Justice Center, which consolidated four different courts at a cost of about $123 million. The project was a disaster from the get-go. Cost overruns and delays plagued the endeavor, along with legal disputes involving bidding procedures, contractors and subcontractors. In the end, the courthouse cost $185 million and was finished in 2005, years behind schedule.

Judge Wiese told commissioners a new courthouse would cost $800 million. That’s too high. And what exactly would it entail? If county officials expect the voters — and any plan should go to the voters — to sign off on a Taj Mahal for local judges, they’ll likely be disappointed. The most productive approach would be to offer local taxpayers a blueprint that emphasizes efficiency and financial discretion with built-in protections against the ills that dogged construction of the Regional Justice Center.

“I get that the judges feel that this is the right thing to do and that the timing is right,” Commissioner Jim Gibson said. “We respect that. But our responsibility is to make sure that we start something that we can finish.”

Indeed, state lawmakers have yet to make the financial commitment necessary to add 18 judges to the county roster. The Legislature doesn’t meet again for 19 months. The commission is correct to move carefully. Clark County residents deserve to know up front how much such a project will cost and how proponents expect to pay for it. The RJC mess was a tribute to poor planning and a lack of oversight. It must not be repeated.