Courthouse Ills Force Judges to Camp Out

Faced with employees' threats to quit over courthouse conditions, Morgan Superior Court Judge Jane Spencer Craney plans to hold court temporarily at the Morgan County Jail and the administration building. -- Joe Vitti / The Star

By Josh Duke
 
 
MARTINSVILLE, Ind. -- As Judge Jane Spencer Craney weighed a decision on a child support case, defendant Sondra Hayes had a question.

As she sat inside a small room in the Morgan County Jail, Hayes leaned over and whispered to Deputy Prosecutor Robert Hagee: "Why are we having this hearing here instead of the courthouse?"

Nobody can answer that question -- at least not precisely.

A mysterious smell inside the Circuit Court chambers July 28 was the first hint that something was amiss at the Morgan County Courthouse. Since then, county employees -- primarily in Craney's Superior Court 3 and Circuit Court -- have battled illness and moved to temporary quarters.

County Commissioners closed the courthouse for two days earlier this month, so state health officials could conduct air tests. Those tests revealed nothing, and the commissioners reopened the building.

State tests did rule out perchloroethylene -- or PCE -- a contaminant that has polluted groundwater south of the square where a dry-cleaning business used to be. However, that is only one of many theories circulating around the courthouse as to the cause of the problems.

Some people are convinced it is mold that developed after a sewer backup this spring. Others have blamed bats in the attic, and county officials say they'll investigate concerns that the problem might be related to recent spraying to control the bird population near the courthouse.

Other departments, including three other courts, have not felt the effects enough to relocate their operations.
However, Craney and Circuit Judge Matthew Hanson decided they had to take a stand.

"I have people on my staff threatening to quit their jobs," Craney said. "These are good workers, good people, and I can't afford that.

"So we have to do something."

Craney and Hanson want more permanent arrangements outside the courthouse until the problem is discovered and fixed.

They've scoped out the administration building -- the county's government center -- for available rooms. They also spoke with County Commissioner Norman Voyles, seeking his help.

"We are pretty adamant about moving our stuff," Hanson said. "We just can't work like this. Even if it is in a small room in the basement over there, my goal is to make sure we are healthy."

Both judges intend to move their computers, staff and thousands of files to the administration building.

Hanson and his staff have spent several days there but found working without computers and files at hand to be cumbersome and inefficient. They returned last week to the courthouse after the state tests came back negative.
But the respiratory-related symptoms -- such as sore throats, difficulty breathing, coughing, headaches and burning eyes, lips, noses and tongues -- quickly returned.

Some employees still occasionally sense an ether smell coming from the air ducts, and others report a metallic taste in their mouths.

Court workers are leaving second-floor windows open 24 hours a day. Fans keep the air circulating, and Mother Nature has provided some relief with unseasonably cool weather that has allowed the air-conditioning units to be shut off.

On Thursday, Craney and her staff experienced their first taste of working outside the courthouse at the jail.

"It actually hasn't been a relief to get away from the courthouse. It has been a pain," Craney said. "Without computers, I can't be productive between hearings. We also are falling behind because people are showing up late after going to a couple of different places."
Getting to Craney's court was an adventure for Hayes. She originally arrived at the courthouse for her hearing. As she approached the door, she noticed a sign indicating that court was at the jail.

"I actually like having it here (at the jail)," Hayes said.

Smell aside, the formal courtrooms inside the courthouse make Hayes nervous. "You would think the jail would," she said.

Craney's court ended up in the jail because of a heavy afternoon docket that included 17 prisoners.

The Sheriff's Department asked Craney to move her court to the jail since it has a place to hold inmates awaiting hearings.

She had planned to hold court in the administration building, but that meant the Sheriff's Department would have had to assign officers to watch the prisoners as they await trial.

Prosecutors and other attorneys also must lug stacks of files to the makeshift courtrooms.

Craney expects to hold court in the coming weeks at the administration building and the jail.

County Clerk Vickie Kivett said all of the movement has slowed paper flow in her office. Her staff must have judgments available within 10 days of a ruling. That hasn't happened lately.

Last week, Craney delayed a move out of the courthouse until a one-day jury trial could be held in her usual courtroom. She used the trial to see if the problem was real or psychological. At the end of the day, she asked jurors how they felt.

A few complained of headaches. Glen Fleener, Martinsville, had developed a dry cough.

"They should shut down the courthouse until they figure out what this is," Fleener said. "I couldn't work in here on a daily basis like this."

Most county employees agree with the commissioners' decision to keep the courthouse open. They say they need to take care of the county business despite the questions about air quality.

One rumor that commissioners are taking very seriously involves recent spraying near the courthouse. Many think the wind, or birds, may have brought the chemical to the courthouse.

"The Board of Health is trying to find out what chemical was used, so we can test for that," Voyles said.

Beyond that, the commissioners await help from the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Tim Crouse, IOSHA's acting deputy commissioner, said he expects to have someone there in the next week or two.

"We are trying as hard as we can to find out what this is and get it resolved," Voyles said. "We are as frustrated as our employees."

 

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