Two Seattle Justices Fight a Move to the County Courthouse
The county commissioners want the justice courts in the courthouse; the justices say the basement rooms are cramped, the trip burdens litigants, and the change will cost more than it saves.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The final decision of the county commissioners to locate the justice courts in the County courthouse does not meet the approval of the two justices, who fail to see how there can be any economy in the change. Justice Caldwell did not hesitate to express his mind. He said:
'I was astonished at the notification sent by the county commissioners. I thought the unanimous expression of the bar of the city opposing the removal of the justice courts to the hill would have some weight with the board. The attorneys dislike the change, and they object not only for themselves but for their clients. If a canvass were taken it would show that every merchant in the city and almost every citizen, irrespective of party or politics, while thinking that the commissioners should do everything in their power to lessen the burden imposed on the people, would look upon the change with disapproval. Every city of the United States, except Tacoma, has its justice courts located in the business center, no matter how commodious the county courthouse may be. The inconvenience caused by locating them on the hill overbalances the saving in expense, which amounts only to $50 a month for both Justice Humphrey and myself.'
Justice Humphrey said:
'I would not object so seriously if the new quarters in the courthouse were as good as the rooms we now occupy. Here we each have a medium-sized room well lighted and also a private office, while under the new arrangement there will be but one room for each court, with no room for consultation or for a jury to retire. The rooms in the courthouse are on the basement floor. One is in the northwest corner of the building and has eight windows, but the other is an inside room, about 16x30, with only two windows in it, furnishing light and ventilation.
'On the score of inconvenience, I would say that the attorneys of the city with very few exceptions signed the petition for the retention of the justice courts in the present quarters. The extra expense for car fare imposed upon business men who have a great amount of business litigation in the justice courts would be paid over and over again by a saving of the amount was trifling compared to loss of time occasioned by the change.
'There is another consideration which at first view may seem petty, but which is a matter of considerable revenue to the county, and that is the fees received for marriage ceremonies. Only last week I married three couples, and the fees paid me is sufficient nearly every month to more than meet the bill for rent. I am satisfied that the change will cut off the greater portion of this revenue.
'We have occupied the present rooms since January, 1890, and when we came here it was understood by the management of the building and the justices, as well as by the county commissioners, that the court rooms were to remain here until January, 1895, when our tenure of office will expire.'
“Every city of the United States, except Tacoma, has its justice courts located in the business center, no matter how commodious the county courthouse may be.”
Then as now, moving courts away from the downtown core raised questions of access, cost and convenience for the people who actually use them. The justices' argument—that a cheaper basement courtroom can be more expensive in lost time and fees—is a familiar civic calculation in Seattle's ongoing debates over where public services belong.
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