Add Leon County, Fla., to List of Jurisdictions Probing Planned New Courthouse Construction
It isn’t just in Maricopa County, Ariz., and Philadelphia that expensive new court construction efforts have drawn fire.
A grand jury is being convened in Leon County, Fla., to address an unidentified citizen’s complaint about a planned $48 million new courthouse for the 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee, reports the St. Petersburg Times.
State lawmakers approved a $33.5 million bond issue to help fund the project, on the last day of the 2007 legislative session. But a number have since said that they knew nothing about the bond issue until years later, because it was buried in a lengthy transportation bill.
Court officials involved in the project did not immediately respond to the newspaper’s requests for comment yesterday.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Paper: War Over $340M Court Tower Threatens Rule of Law in Ariz. County”
ABAJournal.com: “Despite $600K Oversight Role, Law Firm Missed Dual Hats Worn by Attorney-Developer”
