I was once part of a courthouse planning team for a new courthouse. When we sat down to interview the short list of architecture firms, the first firm brought in a court planning consultant as part of their team. We were all impressed. They walked out the door, and the next architecture firm came...

Reconciling accessibility requirements with objectives for visibility between trial participants in a courtroom can be a challenge for court planners and architects. This blog focuses on courtroom design requirements and possible solutions for accommodating handicap access for trial participants.

A basic tenet that drives our modern judicial system is the principle that an accused person is entitled to a jury of peers. This basic right attaches significant importance to the role of the jury, which requires an equally important venue – the jury box.

Years ago, during a courthouse needs assessment, I had a passing conversation with a defense attorney while I was evaluating courtrooms. She noticed that I was taking space measurements and photographs, and commented that the standards for courtroom design should change because participants often...

When courthouse planners, architects, or court managers consider various possibilities for the layout of a new courtroom, how far from historic norms should they expect to depart? There has been a strong thread of consistency in the form and function of American courtrooms from colonial times to...