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Harris County’s Jury Assembly Pool
June 18, 2021
Friends
Years back the powers that be decided to build an underground jury assembly room in downtown Houston. Apparently, they neglected to consider the fact that for good reason NO ONE has a basement in Houston.
 
So they built an underground jury assembly room a stones throw from the bayou. After that, Of course, the underground jury assembly room  flooded. It flooded more than once.
 
The last time it flooded was in August 2017. During Hurricane Harvey, the jury assembly room was 13 feet under water. (The historic replica of the Constitution , which the defense bar gifted to the county, floated in the mess.) 
 
Almost four years have passed. One may ask, did the county learn its lesson? Did the county have a lightbulb moment and realize that maybe we should not keep renovating an underground jury assembly room that will flood again?
 
No, there has been no such epiphany. Instead, the county persists in renovating. The underground jury assembly room will remain underground because someone’s stubborn pride is more important than good Government.
 
Historically, they wanted to connect the jury assembly room to all the surrounding court houses . They built undergroundtunnels for this purpose. These tunnels also flooded.
 
The solution to this mess is quite simple. The county simply needs to abandon the underground debacle and build the jury assembly room above ground. The jury assembly room can be connected to the surrounding courthouses, by using the sky bridges we see all over downtown.
 
The rain is coming and when it comes that jury assembly room will flood again. That will keep happening until reason prevails and the county stops pouring taxpayer money down a hole.
 
Robb Fickman
Houston.

 

Robert J. Fickman

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