Elisha Anderson

Detroit Free Press

As Wayne County begins vetting businessman Dan Gilbert's proposed criminal justice complex north of downtown Detroit, concerns swirl in the legal community about issues ranging from parking and the number of courtrooms to the fate of the county’s juvenile court, which is not included in the plan.

Judges, prosecutors and sheriff's office leaders haven’t weighed in yet on the proposed plan for a new complex near I-75 and East Warren Avenue, but that is expected to change in coming weeks when meetings are held with the county and Gilbert's Rock Ventures.

“Their feeling probably is somebody is saying, 'Well here’s your house,' … And they’re like, ‘Wait a minute, we’re the ones who are going to live there, we need to be a part of the conversation and make sure that everything is contemplated properly,’ ” said Matt Cullen, principal of Rock Ventures. “And they are absolutely right.”

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He said until Wayne County Executive Warren Evans and county commissioners decided the proposal was worth evaluating, they couldn’t talk to the people who work in the county's courts and jails. Now, they want input from those stakeholders.

“The county and Rock are scheduling the appropriate meetings and identifying the necessary participants,” Evans' spokesman, Jim Martinez, said in an e-mail this week. “We will be meeting, talking and negotiating on a regular basis until we can either come to an agreement or decide that we cannot.”

Rock Ventures’ plan calls for building a $420-million state-of-the-art criminal justice center that includes a jail, juvenile detention facility, sheriff and prosecutor’s offices and criminal courthouse to replace the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice now in downtown Detroit.

In exchange, the county would give up land in downtown Detroit where billionaires Gilbert and Tom Gores want to build a Major League Soccer arena that would anchor a commercial development. The county would pay $300 million, the cost of completing a partially built jail downtown and renovating the criminal courthouse, and share cost savings the new facility generates, the proposal said.

To make room for new buildings at the proposed complex, the courthouse currently on the site — the Lincoln Hall of Justice, which handles juvenile delinquency, child abuse and neglect, adoption and guardianship matters — would be demolished. It’s not included in Rock Ventures’ proposal.

The county has been in discussions to move the juvenile court that has been riddled with building problems over the years. It is pursuing options, including possibly moving it to the state-owned Cadillac Place in Detroit’s New Center area, but there is no timeline, county spokesman Martinez said.

“If a deal with Rock occurs to build the criminal justice complex on the present home of the juvenile court, the Lincoln Hall of Justice would need to be vacated,” he said. “Those details and any potential timeline would need to be worked out in the negotiations.”

Wayne County Circuit Chief Judge Robert Colombo Jr. declined to comment on proposal, because it’s too early in the process.

Some said there are benefits to keeping courts together.

“One wonders whether the county would think about including the juvenile court in the new criminal complex since their functions are similar,” said retired Judge William Giovan, who served as chief judge of Wayne Circuit in 2008.

If the county wants to have the juvenile court nearby, it could be discussed but it’s not part of the base analysis, Cullen explained. He said the county advised Rock Ventures that the building would be vacant in the next couple of years, making the area a viable site for the complex.

The Lincoln Hall of Justice is one of four locations in Detroit that make up Wayne County Circuit Court, the largest circuit court in Michigan. Other locations are the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, Penobscot Building and Frank Murphy Hall of Justice, home of the county’s criminal court.

The multiple locations are confusing and inconvenient for people and create inefficiencies and redundancies, Court Administrator Zenell Brown said.

“The court’s vision … is to create one court facility or campus housing all divisions, or two locations where the Criminal Division is located near the jail,” she said.

Some details of what a new criminal court could look like were included in the proposal. It calls for about 25 courtrooms, but Rock Ventures said they are flexible to changes after hearing from stakeholders.

There are four 36th District judges with courtrooms in the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice handling preliminary examinations and probable cause conferences. The move was made several years ago to reduce the traffic in district court and make it more convenient for lawyers with cases in both buildings.

“It doesn’t seem to me from the number of courtrooms that they’re planning, that there’s going to be room for us,” 36th District Chief Judge Nancy Blount told the Free Press.

There aren’t plans to move 36th District Court to the new complex but some say the current setup is helpful to prosecutors, defense attorneys, law enforcement and witnesses.

“The district court should be integrated,” said William Winters III, former president of the Wayne County Criminal Defense Bar Association.

He called the proposal “a step in the right direction” and said he’s hoping input is sought from defense attorneys.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said her office will be actively involved in the vetting process.

"Members of my staff and I will be meeting with the county to go through the proposal very thoroughly," she said in a statement.

One concern already raised is whether there will be enough parking available at the proposed site. Each day about 1,000 people, including jurors, attorneys and members of the public, pass through security at the criminal court, court officials said.

The Frank Murphy Hall of Justice has 23 judges, and often three visiting judges, but has had up to 29 judges assigned in the past, officials said. There are 29 courtrooms inside the courthouse and in 2015, more than 12,000 cases were disposed.

As the process moves forward, the county must determine whether Rock Ventures' proposed criminal justice facility meets its needs.

The Wayne County Commission has approved contracts to examine the proposal and vetting is expected to be done no later than May, even as the county continues to move forward with a plan for Walsh Construction to finish the stalled jail along Gratiot in downtown if the county chooses that option.

Leaders say it’s a dual-track approach that keeps both options in play until a decision is made.

Commission Chairman Gary Woronchak, D-Dearborn said there is mixed reaction whether to keep the jail downtown or go with Rock Ventures' proposal.

"The constituents are split on it," he said. "There's not a consensus either way.”

Contact Elisha Anderson: eanderson@freepress.com or 313-222-5144. Follow on Twitter: @elishaanderson. Free Press staff writer Matt Helms contributed to this report.