Justice delayed (by a broken elevator) is justice denied

The flawed elevator system is once more slowing down justice at the Regional Justice Center.

Courthouse officials got the news in an e-mail on Thursday that one of six public elevators in the 17-story building is now shut down for what one maintenance expert says is an "extended" period of time.

That means lawyers and members of the public can expect an extended period of unusually long morning lines in the lobby of the busy courthouse.

The elevator’s motor, it turns out, is broke and needs to be replaced. But before that can happen, officials must deal with the county’s slow-moving bureaucracy to get funding.

It took the county nearly three months, you'll recall, to allocate money to fix the courthouse’s security camera system.

The elevators have been a problem from the day the Regional Justice Center opened its doors in October 2005.

Officials are no closer to fixing the system today than they were five years ago.