If you're an avid news watcher, you'll know that members of the judiciary rarely grant interviews. They usually confine such interactions to prepared remarks presented in official court capacities, such as the ceremonial opening of the Supreme Court.
But, this morning, Justice Lisa Shoman from the Civil Division of the Supreme Court made her second appearance as a guest on Sunup on 7. She stopped by to chat with the hosts about her recent visit to Singapore. We'll share that with you, but we turn first to Justice Shoman's candid remarks about how her courtroom suffers from a leaky roof, mold, and decayed ceiling tiles.
This morning, Justice Shoman shared details about her leaky courtroom:
Justice Lisa Shoman - Supreme Court Judge
"The other thing, and you can see it here, is this is the courts of the present, people. And I am showing you my courtroom. This is after that pretty violent storm; I think it was on Wednesday. I was in court, and while I was in court, water was pouring in through that window and the one next to it. The ceiling tiles are sagging because water is coming through. We had to cover a big monitor with a garbage bag to make sure it doesn't get wet. And at the back of my courtroom, you're going to see not only mold but the receptacle that we used for catching the drips. The ceiling tile above it that is about to break because it's sodden, and this is the ceiling. But the roof was what was the scary part because the roof, the zinc on the roof, I said that the zinc was flapping. And it was flapping loudly enough that I had to suspend hearings for the morning. Luckily, it was already almost rice hours, close to 12. So I said, let us take a break, and we come back this afternoon, see how we were. And what I did was organize everybody to go to their attorney's offices. And we did it completely, virtually, and had nobody in this courtroom because this is the passageway. Water was literally pouring in. The rules on that historic building. I'm in what used to be called the Treasury Building, the original old section where the chief justice's chambers now are. Boledo used to play downstairs, and my courtroom is on the other side, along with the registrar's office and other offices. So, we are working with the courts of the prison, but we also have to find a way to push ourselves into the future."
At January's ceremonial opening of the Supreme Court, Attorney General Magali Marin-Young announced that the Briceno Administration is hard at work on a long-term plan to construct a judicial complex to provide the judiciary with more adequate space.
