After several months of silence, the Administrative Office of the Courts has issued a recommendation to locate a new $30

inyo_courthouse

AOC does not support the county seat of Independence for a new building.

million court building in Bishop, not Independence.

In a 26-page draft report, the AOC says that initially they planned to place the new building in Independence which was determined to be a “Critical Need” project, in state jargon. So, the grant was initially funded for Independence. The report says in early 2010, the AOC and the local court started to discuss location of the building in Bishop.

The AOC report says 78% of Inyo’s population lives north of Poverty Hills. The document points to more cases originating in the Bishop area, more jurors from Bishop and an inadequate bus schedule to transport them to Independence. The report points to social services, attorneys and other services available in Bishop.

The report concludes that an Independence location would not provide greater access to court services and that Bishop is where court services need expansion. The report does say location in Independence supports the historic tradition of the county seat.

The AOC does formally recommend Bishop as the location for the new court building with continuance of daily access to court services and judicial proceedings in Independence.

Now the AOC wants public comments. You can write to:

The Administrative Office of the Courts
Attn: Inyo Courthouse
Office of Court Construction and Management
455 Golden Gate Avenue, 8th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94102

Or go to the AOC website at www.courtinfo.ca.gov/invitaitonstocomment/

Discover more from Sierra Wave: Eastern Sierra News

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading