NEW ORLEANS -- The compromise over security at Orleans Criminal Court came just hours before a shutdown that would have, in effect, closed the courthouse.
The problem stems from a budget dispute. On Monday, Chief Judge Julian Parker said he received a letter from Sheriff Marlin Gusman's office. It said because of funding issues, the Sheriff's office, "will no longer be able to provide security at the Tulane Street entrance."
"We can not lock the Tulane Avenue doors and operate the building," said Orleans Criminal Court Chief Judge Julian Parker.
That move would leave only the smaller, Broad Street entrance open. Judge Parker said that was when a budget issue became a fire hazard. On Tuesday morning, all 13 judges voted to close the entire building, if the Tulane entrance could not be opened.
"To say that it would be a danger to the public is an understatement, if there were to be a fire in this building and everyone had to exit through the Broad Street entrance," Judge Parker said.
Just before a noon deadline on Tuesday, though, the City and the Sheriff's Office reached a compromise: the Sheriff's office will provide security at the Tulane entrance through the end of the week, with a guaranteed payment from the City. Mayor Mitch Landrieu said on Tuesday that the budget dispute is not unexpected and that his administration remains in discussion with the Sheriff's Office.
"We're going to work with the judges and the sheriff to try and fund the budget gap that was created last year and continue to make the government work and continue to do the hard work we do every day," Mayor Landrieu.
Rafael Goyeneche of the Metropolitan Crime Commission said while the compromise is a positive step, it is a short-term solution for a recurring issue: the funding of the Sheriff's Office.
"I think what we're going to have to do is figure out a way to work a little bit smarter in these budgetary crisis periods of transition that we're going through right now," Goyeneche said. "What we don't want to do is hold the criminal justice system hostage and create a panic that may result in a shutdown of the system because nobody wins there."
The compromise that keeps the criminal courthouse open for now comes in the midst of two murder trials. What happens after Friday, though, remains unclear.
