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It seemed like a simple question, to me at least. Over the last two weeks, I’ve asked a number of people, reaching out to law schools, state officials and a couple folks who calmly said ‘nope, I’m retired’, when I tried to pull them in. For the most part, all I found was silence. Nobody would go on the record at all.  Not about a courthouse and certainly not about the Virginia Code. 

My question was about the controversy over the Cumberland County courthouse. Chief Judge Donald Blessing of the Cumberland Circuit Court has raised a number of concerns over the facility in the last two years and finally got tired of waiting by the end of 2024. He told supervisors in no uncertain terms that they needed to start taking action, or he would take other measures to force it. Cumberland Supervisors, already dealing with legal headaches over the proposed Green Ridge landfill, don’t want more lawsuits or legal bills, and so they’ve agreed to start developing designs.

But even as a ‘maybe’ project down the line, $37 million is a hefty price tag. And more importantly, it’s money the county doesn’t have. Farmville could tackle a $42 million school renovation because it has significantly more in the way of businesses and revenue. For a community like Cumberland, $37 million in debt is crushing, especially when there are so many other more pressing needs, as you can read about here. And yet, why is that $37 million needed in the first place? And why is everyone afraid that if the county says no to expansion, it can just be ordered? 

About a courthouse and the law in question 

That’s what I had tried to ask multiple law schools, professors and legal minds. Was I reading the code wrong? Because as I read the Virginia Code, it doesn’t say anything about a judge being able to force expansion. Instead, Virginia Code 15.2-1643 says that when a judge finds that “the court facilities of such county or city are insecure, out of repair, or otherwise pose a danger to the health, welfare and safety of court employees or the public,” then he or she can order the county to make renovations.

To be clear, it says a judge can command the county “to cause the court facilities of such county or city to be made secure, or put in good repair, or rendered otherwise safe as the case may be, and to proceed as in other cases of mandamus, to cause the necessary work to be done.” 

So the way I read that, if there is a security issue, that can be forced to be fixed. If the structure is not in good repair, aka it needs renovations to avoid falling down, that can be ordered as well. 

But the code also states there are limits to what a judge can and cannot order. 

Section E under Virginia Code 15.2-1643 states that “nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize a circuit court to require that an additional or replacement courthouse be constructed.”

Again, that to me seems pretty clear. Nothing can require a county to expand or replace the courthouse. Only to renovate, again to address if the building was “insecure, out of repair or otherwise poses a danger to the health, welfare and safety of court employees or the public.” 

What am I missing? 

What are the concerns in Cumberland? 

So what are the concerns at the courthouse? Well, back in 2023, the county contracted with HBA Architects to get that answer. The firm returned a report last year, outlining eight issues labeled as critical deficiencies.

The main one was a lack of full-time security at the building entrances. The second pointed out the lack of a vehicle sallyport, a secure entrance for judges and others to park. Third, there is no dedicated general district courtroom or chambers, just two courtrooms. Fourth, there’s no dedicated juvenile or domestic relations clerk’s office. Fifth, the courthouse and judges are in a separate building from the clerk’s offices. Sixth, HBA officials felt the circuit court and general district court clerk’s offices were undersized and inadequate, as was the Commonwealth Attorney’s office. Seventh, there’s a lack of technology, including no electronic dockets display, no electronic civil case filing options. And finally, the report stated there are non-existent exterior security provisions, including any fencing, bollards or CCTV. 

The majority of those wouldn’t be addressed by a $37 million expansion or an expansion of any kind. In fact, I’d argue if you say there’s a security issue now, how exactly would you be fixing it by enlarging the courthouse? Would that not mean more square footage to cover? If there’s a lack of security at building entrances now, how does it fix the problem to add more, or create larger entrances? 

How about this instead for the courthouse? 

To me, the security issue could be solved at a dramatically cheaper price by hiring more deputies, even perhaps recently retired ones. You’d have to do that anyway with expansion, just to cover the larger space. But let’s be realistic too. If the building isn’t accessible to the public full-time, why does there need to be full-time security? 

Also yes, hiring deputies has been a challenge for Cumberland, as places like Goochland and Chesterfield, even Powhatan offer significantly higher salaries. And yet, having to train new deputies every couple of years still seems less expensive than what’s being proposed here. 

The report also mentioned a lack of fencing or outdoor security measures in general. Again, this type of thing can be fixed, often through grant funding on a state or non-profit level. I have seen it done in rural and urban areas. And yes, Cumberland does need to join the 21st century and set up things like an electronic case filing system and electronic dockets display. It’s hard to fault them for holding off on pulling that trigger though. Over the last few years especially, they’ve literally cut every item possible just to make sure the bare minimum is taken care of. 

But even a brand-new, streamlined system wouldn’t cost even close to $500,000. In fact, based even on current high prices, it would seem everything mentioned so far can be done for under $3 million. I would argue that would be a decent enough compromise, addressing those needs while looking at ways of dealing with the others down the line. I’m not saying ignore any of the concerns. I’m just suggesting that it get done over several years, maybe even more than a decade, to ease the financial burden. 

Yes, there’s an issue

At least all of that makes sense to me. The problem, as it often happens, is that the code is subject to interpretation. I spoke to three practicing lawyers and they all gave me different interpretations, ways they would get around my argument and say the $37 million renovation is needed.

One would claim the security issue could only be addressed by a new structure, as it might be too easy for someone to gain access to the current building due to age. Another would say the older structure of the current building can’t handle the wiring and setup needed for the new technology. The third said he would find every reported accident, crack, fault or repair work done and use it to argue the building isn’t physically safe as is. What about if they were arguing for the county? Each one said the first thing they’d do is reach out to Virginia’s Attorney General, to get a legal opinion about what specifically is required by the Code. 

Would any of that be enough to win a case? Possibly. And that’s why I don’t envy the position Cumberland supervisors find themselves in. Do you fight, but run the risk of digging yourself in a deeper hole? I would argue yes, because I see that $37 million as a bomb, one that leaves a shiny courthouse and little else in its wake. 

However, before you pick up pitchforks against the supervisors, there’s one last thing to mention. If the judge orders the renovation, there is no $37 million limit. He’s not limited by that or any other agreement. He or she can’t outright order an expansion or to build a brand new building, but as each lawyer I talked to pointed out, that leaves a lot of grey area to work with.

BRIAN CARLTON is editor of The Farmville Herald. His email address is brian.carlton@farmvilleherald.com.