OGDEN — The new 2nd District Juvenile Courthouse smelled of fresh paint as judges, court employees and community members gathered Monday for the building's dedication ceremony.
"I think it's just breathtaking, and I think it's a testament to the value we place on children here in Utah," Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Matthew B. Durrant said during the ceremony.
The 85,000-square-foot facility at 165 20th St. replaces the courthouse at 444 26th St., which was built in the mid-1980s. The new building is designed to serve the community's needs for the next 40 to 50, said Alyn Lunceford, facilities director of Utah courts.
Highlights of the new building include six completed juvenile courtrooms of varying size; two unfinished courtrooms for later expansion; office space for support and prevention programs related to the juvenile system; and separation spaces between court staff, the public and charged juveniles.
"This is a jewel here in the city of Ogden. It truly is," said Jeffrey J. Noland, presiding judge of the 2nd District Juvenile Court.
The funds for the project were approved by the Utah Legislature in 2013. Following two years of construction, the project's price tag was almost $34 million, including the costs of buying the property, and design and construction of the building.
The courtrooms are also filled with natural lights and neutral colors to prevent the rooms from feeling cold and intimidating to juveniles.
Views from the courthouse's large floor to ceiling windows offer a look at the Ogden skyline, which can also be seen from the large waiting rooms outside the courtrooms, and in the judges' chambers and staff offices.
Other areas barred from the public include holding cells that have separate elevator access for safe prison transfers, and windows where attorneys can conference with their clients.
"We built this building to accommodate our future needs, our current needs, to be expandable and adaptable as those needs change and evolve over the anticipated years this building will be relevant," Lunceford said.
The ability to adapt in the juvenile judicial system is essential, he said, because judges and associated entities are learning how to best handle the diverse cases and individuals they preside over.
Noland highlighted how cases involving juveniles in the early 1900s were handled compared with today, describing a case of a 10-year-old who was found guilty and sent to the state industrial school until age 21. That case would be handled differently today, he said.
Noland also described how at-risk juveniles are similar to starfish in the story where a man encounters thousands of starfish washed up on the beach and proceeds to throw them back into the water so they don't die.
In the story, another person approaches the scene and asks why the man would bother throwing any of the creatures back into the ocean because it was impossible to save them all.
"I realize I can't save all of them," the man explains, "but the one I just threw in, it made a difference for it."
"All of our judges do important work," Durrant said, "but I can't help but think that our juvenile court judges do the most important work of all, and that is because they encounter people at a time in their lives when they are most malleable and they are the most capable for change. Lives will be changed here, and lives will be altered."
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