Participation in a jury is the manner in which most Americans experience our judicial system. A much greater number of people serve on criminal and civil juries than experience the judicial system as plaintiffs, defendants, attorneys, or officers of the court. In fact, as of 2012, as many as 27% of...

As an architect, I don’t know everything about the courthouse planning process. As an undergraduate student at Ohio State University, my architecture professors routinely emphasized their belief that architects were the center of the universe, omniscient beings like Frank Lloyd Wright who could...

Whenever I visit a courtroom, one of the first functional areas that I consider is the jury box in the courthouse planning process. The condition of the jury box is of particular interest to me since this is where ordinary citizens, like myself, are introduced to the American judicial system. It...

The decoration in judges' chambers can reflect their personalities. I have seen many unique collections and displays and have heard wonderful stories from judges describing the significance of these items to their lives, but is this a factor when courthouse planning?

Throughout my career as a courthouse planner, I have continually kept in mind the fact that courthouses are not just facilities where justice is administered. Courthouses are also public buildings. I am always inspired when I visit a courthouse that plays an active role in giving back to the...