When Safety Building Is Razed, Where Will Criminal Cases Be Heard?

Milwaukee County Safety Building. Photo by Graham Kilmer.

When Milwaukee County decided it would demolish the Safety Building to make way for a new, expensive criminal courthouse, one question remained unanswered: What would happen to the criminal courts that operate there?

The answer: They will move to the Historic Courthouse, 901 N. 9th St., for the approximately five years of construction.

The goal of the project, expected to be one of the most expensive public works projects in Milwaukee history, is to replace the aging and dilapidated Safety Building, 821 W. State St., with a criminal courthouse that is an aid, not an impediment, to the functioning of the Milwaukee County Circuit Courts.

The Safety Building, which was built in 1929, does not meet modern standards for courthouse design. The old building is a problem for the criminal court system because it forces everyone involved in a case to use the same public hallway to access the courtroom. It creates opportunities for conflict and mistrial, both of which have occurred in the past.

It also has a crumbling facade and old mechanical systems. Damp conditions and flooding have damaged criminal evidence stored by the Clerk of Circuit Courts. The county spends approximately $500,000 annually making repairs throughout the building.

Construction of the new facility is expected to cost approximately $490 million.

“It’s going to be an incredibly expensive project, probably the biggest in the history of Milwaukee County,” Aaron Hertzberg, director of the Department of Administrative Services, told supervisors Monday during a meeting of the Committee on Community, Environment and Economic Development.

In June, the county decided it would demolish the Safety Building and build a new facility on the site. With 75% of design completed, officials told Milwaukee County supervisors Monday the historic courthouse — a hulking neoclassical structure west of the Safety Building — would provide swing space for the criminal courts during demolition and construction, which is expected to begin at the end of next year and wrap up in 2031.

“As I keep saying, it’s going to get awfully cozy around here,” Hertzberg said.

The Public Safety Building is currently home to eight criminal courtrooms, one traffic courtroom, the district attorney’s office, the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office and a number of other functions, including a satellite office for the state public defender’s office.

During construction, judges presiding over criminal courts will share courtrooms with judges handling civil cases, said Chief Judge Carl Ashley. The courts will also expand the use of remote hearings.

“I think on balance, it’s not going to be the best situation, but it’s workable,” he said.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the state court system has struggled under a backlog of cases. The Milwaukee County Jail has regularly been at or over its legal capacity since then, too. Supervisors asked officials if the court system will be able to continue working through the backlog, and not adding to it, during the construction period.

Criminal courts will be prioritized in the swing space to avoid worsening the backlog, Hertzberg and Ashley told supervisors.

Ashley said growth in felony cases pending before the courts isn’t driven solely by circuit court inefficiencies.

“More cases are coming in, serious cases,” Ashley said. “That’s just the reality of what we’re dealing with in our community.”

County officials are planning to return to the board in March with some conceptual designs for policymakers to review.

Hertzberg assured supervisors the project team is looking for areas to save costs wherever possible. Some design matters have been settled. For instance, a requested shooting range for the sheriff’s office will not be included. Officials are also considering options for a gym or wellness facility for court staff; Hertzberg mentioned there is interest in a sport court for basketball or volleyball.

The new courthouse will also have an entire floor dedicated to problem-solving courts, which work with defendants over a long period of time to resolve underlying issues, like drug addiction or mental health, that led to their offense. During the planning process, court officials have been working out ways to improve the functioning of the justice system as part of the courthouse project.

“We do believe that problem solving courts is our future,” Ashley said. “It’s an opportunity to look for different ways to allow someone to change the trajectory of their lives.”