The Heart of Bexar County

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On seeing the conditions of the court, I said, “This is an awful and very dangerous condition. You can feel tremendous tension in the air. I’m appalled, from my work with children, at the conditions of this court. I will make this court a priority.” Soon after our tour, Betty and I met with District Judge John Specia and Associate Judge Sakai. Judge Specia had hired Sakai in 1995 to assist with the rising number of abuse and neglect cases. They had great ideas and we teamed up with them to begin planning a new children’s court. Betty later recommended to the Commissioners Court that the court hire Susan Goltsman, a leading consultant on children’s courts. The court approved a contract with her. Goltsman began meeting with constituent groups that worked with the court on programming and space needs. While the planning was underway, work on the exterior continued. Two months after we began planning, I had lunch at the Palm restaurant with SBC Senior Executive Vice President Cassandra Carr. Over lunch I told her about the Hidalgo Foundation and the established three goals. Cassandra suggested that I submit a request to SBC for a technology grant. I later presented a proposal to the SBC Foundation for a $3-million grant. A few weeks later in October at a fundraising event for John Sharp, candidate for Lt. Governor, Nelson and I saw SBC chairman Ed Whitacre. We worked our way over to him and I said, “Just making sure you know we made a proposal to your foundation.” He replied, “I know, but I can’t give you the $3 million.” He paused and then said, “But I could give you $2 million. Let’s shake hands on the deal.” We shook hands and that sealed the deal. Shaking hands on a deal reaches back to times of honor and respect. Ed Whitacre is the kind of man who makes big decisions and always honors them. As I continued to raise dollars, Betty presented a report to Commissioner Court and recommended q Top: Donor board showing the contributions to the Children’s Court. Above: Children’s Court Judge John Specia. C h a p t e r V 1 F 3 1
q Above: Children’s court Judge Richard Garcia. devoting 10,000 square feet of space for two full courtrooms, an education and recreational area for the children, two large conference rooms, family visitation rooms, offices for prosecutors and CPS staff, detention cells, and most important a drug-testing clinic. The report also recommended installing state-of-the-art technology, including electronic evidence, reporting, as well as video conferencing. Nelson and I then met with District Clerk Reagan Greer, who graciously agreed to the idea of moving rows of records off the third floor of the courthouse, so the children’s court complex could be located there. Commissioners Court approved the relocation and authorized hiring an architect. Greer and his staff began moving a massive number of documents off site. I will always be grateful to Reagan for his insight and focus on the importance of children in the greatest need. Over the next year, architectural plans were drawn for the Children’s Court. We began construction in 2003 and I made several visits to watch the courts take shape. Two years later on January 14, 2005, we opened the new Child Abuse and Neglect Courts. The two courtrooms had ample space. The conference rooms provided space for families to privately meet with their lawyers. Across the hallway we built offices for CPS staff, the district attorney, and related social service agencies and a special set of prisoner holding cells that allowed visits between the prisoners and their children when a judge deemed it appropriate. Later Judge Sakai added two additional children court judges, Richard Garcia and Charles Montemayor. A special room for children protected them from the trauma of court proceedings. It was decorated with furniture designed for children as well as numerous toys and children books. Judges could visit with them in this comfortable surroundings. If a child’s testimony was necessary, it could be transferred by video into the courtroom. State-of-the-art technology enabled judges to also use remote video conferencing with experts or parents. 3 2 F T H E H E A R T O F B E X A R C O U N T Y
Page 1 and 2: THE HEART OF BEXAR COUNTY RESTORATI
Page 3 and 4: First Edition Copyright © 2020 HPN
Page 5 and 6: CONTENTS FOREWORD .................
Page 7 and 8: q Architectural drawing of the Cour
Page 9 and 10: I E V O L U T I O N O F C I T Y H A
Page 11 and 12: q Above: Bottom, right: The Masonic
Page 13 and 14: q Architect’s Drawing of the Bexa
Page 15 and 16: II R E S T O R A T I O N O F C I T
Page 17 and 18: q San Antonio City Council Chamber.
Page 19 and 20: III T H E D E C L I N E O F T H E C
Page 21 and 22: 2 0 F T H E H E A R T O F B E X A R
Page 23 and 24: Both designs were ill conceived, mi
Page 29 and 30: q Bexar County Courthouse. submitte
Page 31: VI T H E C H I L D R E N ’ S C O
Page 35 and 36: VII T H E F I R S T R E S T O R E D
Page 37 and 38: q Before and after restoration of t
Page 39 and 40: In 1996 Father David Garcia, belove
Page 41 and 42: IX L A D Y J U S T I C E by Tracy W
Page 43 and 44: q Top, left: The Lady Justice fount
Page 45 and 46: q Right: Lady Justice during the un
Page 47 and 48: q Above and below: Construction of
Page 49 and 50: With that picture of the original c
Page 51 and 52: q Above: June 17, 2018, King Felipe
Page 53 and 54: q Above: Removal of the Gondeck add
Page 55 and 56: q Bexar County Courthouse after the
Page 57 and 58: XII T H E B E X A R C O U N T Y A R
Page 59 and 60: q Above: Texas A&M-San Antonio Arch
Page 61 and 62: XIII T H E B E X A R H E R I T A G
Page 63 and 64: q Exhibits from the Bexar County He
Page 65 and 66: q Right: Northside view of the Bexa
Page 67 and 68: ABOUT THE AUTHORS C O U N T Y N E L
Page 69 and 70: APPENDIX A A R C H I T E C T S & C
Page 71 and 72: APPENDIX C A R C H I T E C T S & C
Page 73 and 74: APPENDIX D B E X A R C O U N T Y O
Page 77 and 78: JTM CONSULTING, LLC Drawing on a lo
Page 79 and 80: G BRACEWELL, LLP From top to bottom
Page 81 and 82: NICHOLAS & BARRERA, P.C. For nearly
Page 83 and 84:
DAVIS, CEDILLO & MENDOZA, INC. G To
Page 85 and 86:
LINEBARGER GOGGAN BLAIR & SAMPSON,
Page 87 and 88:
LAW OFFICES OF SERNA & SERNA Growin
Page 89 and 90:
G ESCAMILLA & PONECK, LLP Above: Pa
Page 91 and 92:
WATTS GUERRA, LLP G Left: Mikal C.
Page 93 and 94:
GUNN, LEE & CAVE, P.C. G Left: Ted
Page 95 and 96:
THOMAS J. HENRY LAW Thomas J. Henry
Page 97:
$34.95 978-1-944891-70-1 Ë|xHSLJOE
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The Heart of Bexar County

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