The Heart of Bexar County

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Above and below: Construction of the
Double height courtroom.
A few weeks after I took office in May 2001,
Tracy, Betty and I took a tour of the 285th District
courtroom, located on the top half of the original
courtroom. I climbed up a ladder and removed a
few ceiling tiles and when I shined a flashlight
inside, I saw the original plaster crown moldings
and low-relief-coffering. I knew that at some
point in time, we had to reveal and restore this
beautiful work.
I then went to look at the Presiding courtroom
tucked underneath the floor of the 285th District
courtroom. As I walked around looking at the dark
paneling, two staff members told me not to try to
change the courtroom. I knew where that message
was coming from. Many of the judges did not
embrace change. I also knew that the San Antonio
Bar Association would back up the judges. The
Commissioners Court found it difficult to resist the
political pressure from the Bar and the judges.
So, I had to bide my time. A lot of time;
some 10 years. Meanwhile, we worked on the
restoration projects that were not controversial; the
Children’s Court, restoring other courtrooms and
hallways, fixing numerous electrical and plumbing
problems and repairing the outside walls.
In the meantime, Betty began researching the
history of how the original courtroom was used.
She found that it was originally the County
Judge’s courtroom as well as where the
Commissioners Court met. The Judges only used
the courtroom for famous criminal and civil trials
that required more space. I now had a reason to
not only restore the courtroom but to also
advocate its use by the Commissioners Court.
Finally, in 2010, nine years after taking
office, I took the first steps toward tackling
the controversial issue. By this time, we had
successfully accomplished numerous restoration
projects in the courthouse. As a result, Tracy
and I had both established credibility with
the Commissioners Court, most of the judges
and the public. I was now in a position to
hopefully overcome the significant opposition of
the judiciary.
Based on research, I suggested that the judges
share the courtroom with the Commissioners
Court. I also wanted to open up the courtroom for
use by the public by allowing civic organizations to
have meetings and evening dinners, much like we
did when we built the City Hall Chambers in 1994.
After I trotted out my proposal, the judges
sent a letter to the Commissioners Court stating
that they unanimously opposed the proposal.
They also started organizing the leadership of the
San Antonio Bar Association to oppose it. Several
lawyers called backing up the judges’ position.
I still thought that I could change the
judge’s minds about sharing the courtroom,
so I arranged to meet with five judges that
represented all the district civil judges. The
meeting did not go so well. They said they were
not going to share the courtroom with the
Commissioners Court. Sometimes change is
hard to accept even although the judges
whose courtrooms we had restored were proud
of them.
4 6 F T H E H E A R T O F B E X A R C O U N T Y