Milwaukee County chief judge pushes for family court renovation, citing safety concerns

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Milwaukee County is getting ready to renovate the seventh floor of the county courthouse and improve the family courts for what officials and judges call life and safety issues.

Milwaukee County Chief Judge Carl Ashley on Aug. 10 said the current design of the floor and emotional nature of divorce and custody cases makes a dangerous situation for staff and everyone who needs to use the court system.

“It’s a safety issue,” he told the Capital Improvements Committee (CIC).

“The amount of traffic that takes place on the seventh floor with family court matters, we often talk about homicide and the serious matters taking place in the Safety Building and that’s another issue, but family court issues are probably even more dangerous,” Ashley explained.

Staff are often in close quarters in spaces where serious issues are being addressed and people are unhappy, and where conflict breaks out often, the chief judge said. A lack of barriers between people and staff is also a problem, and there have been cases “where people are sitting in rooms and chairs for our staff because there’s no barriers to stop them,” he added.

The project will carry on in a two-phase process; the first phase is out for bid. In July, the county put out a notice for bid for metal studs and drywall, rough carpentry, HVAC, flooring, electrical and fire suppression systems on the seventh floor. This leg of the project is expected to wrap up around January, according to the notice.

“This remodeling of the seventh floor is going to create such a better environment, not just for our staff, but for the community,” Ashley added.

Ashley noted improving the floor space of the seventh floor would help Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office deputies, who are understaffed, work more efficiently with areas being cordoned off.

The chief judge was pushing to have the project included in Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley’s 2024 budget. According to state statute, Crowley must submit a state budget on or before Oct. 1. Afterward, the County Board considers the budget and can adopt amendments, then makes a final decision in early November.

According to a CIC report on Aug. 15, the second phase of renovations was left out of the committee’s recommendation. Stuart Carron, director of facilities management at Milwaukee County, told the committee planning and design for phase two wasn’t 90% ready. The project is projected at nearly $4.4 million.