Columnist Jeff German: Court is out of order, but still impresses

Thursday, Oct. 20, 2005 | 8:10 a.m.

High above the main lobby entrance to the Regional Justice Center is a quote from the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. carved into the sandstone wall.

It reads: " .. be an Amos, and say, 'Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.' "

On Tuesday, when the heavy rains came, Mother Nature took the civil rights leader up on his words.

A ceiling drain over the entrance clogged with leftover construction materials caused water to roll down the sandstone, creating a nightmare for court officials still moving into the $185 million building.

The gushing water knocked out a security camera, flooded the marble floor and forced officials to close the main entrance of the building at Third Street and Lewis Avenue for the day.

It was one of a half-dozen leaks at the new high rise and an example of the many bugs officials are trying to work out.

"We're knocking them out as we discover them," said Chuck Short, the county's court executive who is overseeing the move into the 17-story facility. "We're facing some of the same issues a new homeowner faces, only on a larger scale."

Considering the high-tech building's hellish history -- it opened millions of dollars over budget and 3 1/2 years late -- what Short and company are going through right now is a minor inconvenience.

The leak at the main entrance, for example, was fixed after officials removed the materials left by the bonehead construction workers.

The rest of the leaks, I'm told, were not serious and can be fixed with protective caulking.

Topping the list of problems expected to be corrected soon are those surrounding the six automated elevators in the lobby.

Until Wednesday, a computer glitch that allowed only one elevator at a time to open on each floor was causing long lines during peak morning hours. The congestion was temporarily eased after court officials switched to operating four of the elevators manually.

Short and company, meanwhile, are angry with Sprint, which has been slow to install telephones throughout the building and ensure that the system is functioning properly. Having a phone there with voice mail that actually works is a luxury right now.

Officials also aren't happy with SOA Security, the company hired to protect the building at night and on weekends.

SOA officers, it seems, were letting in the public after hours, which is a huge security threat.

Earlier in the week temperatures were too hot for some 200 inmates waiting in the basement holding tank before they made their court appearances. They were getting hot under the collar until officials figured out how to lower the thermostat.

Still, as I walked through the Regional Justice Center Wednesday morning, I saw lots of people moving around an impressive facility with plenty of elbow space.

Chief District Judge Kathy Hardcastle was in a chipper mood when she arrived for work.

"This is wonderful," she said, as she looked around the bustling lobby. "Everybody's walking around with smiles on their faces."

Well, not everyone.

Some members of the public seemed overwhelmed entering the spacious lobby, lawyers were fumbling their way around the hallways looking for the right courtroom, and Short was busy solving the problems.

But one thing that Hardcastle told me can't be disputed.

For the first time in a long while, Las Vegas has a courthouse that has the resources to treat everyone with dignity and respect.

It's the real meaning behind King's words carved into the sandstone of the Regional Justice Center.