Jeffrey Gilbert shareholder with Cozen O'Connor, in Miami.

Miami-Dade Chief Circuit Judge Bertila Soto previewed the courtrooms in the new civil courthouse. And she really liked what she saw!

To be a bit more accurate, Soto and Civil Administrative Judge Jennifer Bailey visited a warehouse in Doral, where the developers, architects and design team of the new courthouse erected life-size wooden mockups of the to-be-featured ceremonial courtroom, encompassing approximately 3,000 square feet, and two sizes of the planned jury trial courtrooms, the smaller of which approximates the space of the current Courtroom 6-1.

"I couldn't believe we were standing in and looking at the life-sized mockups," she said. "It gave me the goosebumps."

Soto sat in the mockup judge's chair, and appreciated right away that all sightlines in the courtrooms open to her—there will not be any obstructing columns erected in the middle of any of the courtrooms. She could see the lawyers' tables, which will number two sets of "smart tables" (totaling four counsel tables) for counsel on each side of any litigation. And the "smart tables" will be fully equipped with up-to-date technology or ready access to that technology. "So much careful thought is being put into the courtrooms' technology," Soto said. "There will be USB and other drops everywhere and even in the floors of the courtrooms. Lawyers will tie into whatever equipment and technology they need" during hearings and trials. Technology in the courthouse will no longer suffer as "government technology—that's yesterday's computer and technology equipment today," she said. The intent, the judge said, is for the new courthouse to accommodate whatever technological advances at-large occur during the life of the building.

From her mockup's chair, Soto also could see directly into the jury box, the witness stand and the public seating gallery, without any obstructions.

Designing the interiors of the new courthouse is proceeding on schedule, notwithstanding the continuing coronavirus pandemic. But as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Soto said the judges are considering changing or updating certain interior spaces to accommodate for planned social distancing, adding technology to allow for and even promote duly noticed and organized remote hearing participation, staggering motion calendar hearings to avoid drawing large groups of lawyers and their clients into vestibules or courtrooms all at the same time, and developing in conjunction with the Clerk of Court's office more fully remote, online jury registration and initial questioning of potential jurors. So, for example, the chief judge is requesting a larger seating gallery to accommodate social distancing inside each of the courtrooms. She is also reviewing the size and seating capacity of the planned 100-seat jury selection room, again with an eye toward accommodating social distancing upon the opening of the new courthouse.

Soto said a number of judges also will visit the life-sized mockups next week, so that she and Bailey may receive their input on the courtrooms' designs. "We will visit with masks and we won't kiss one another Miami-style," she said.

Plans for the new civil courthouse were approved by the Miami-Dade County Commission in December 2019. It is being developed as part of a P3 (public/private partnership) with the County and The Plenary Group, a developer with headquarters in Canada. The structure is estimated to cost $267 million, and it will replace the almost 100-year-old Miami-Dade Civil Courthouse. The courthouse, to be located at Flagler Street on First Avenue, directly west of the existing courthouse, will rise 24 storeys and will accommodate initially 46 courtrooms, with the capacity to build out an additional four courtrooms in the future. Groundbreaking for the new courthouse will occur soon; construction is not being delayed by the pandemic. And the new courthouse is expected to open for business in 2024.

Soto said the county, the architects and the developers are "working 24/7 to get this done for the citizens of Miami-Dade County.  It is our constitutional obligation."

And, importantly for lawyers and the public alike, there will be adequate, spacious restrooms on every floor.

In addition to overseeing the construction of the new courthouse, Soto was also appointed to the Florida Supreme Court Workgroup on Continuity of Court Operations and Proceedings During and After COVID-19 . She is co-chairing the Florida Supreme Court's Operations sub-committee with Chief Judge Kevin Emas of the District Court of Appeal, Third District. That committee is addressing current and future court operations throughout Florida, during the pandemic and while anticipating other emergency needs. The Chief Judges are addressing current remote operations for the judges, their staffs, the lawyers and the public. A number of administrative orders have been issued by the Supreme Court detailing remote operations and closures, including most recently that there will be no civil jury trials through at least July 2.  While many divisions of the courts operate paperlessly (the criminal division does not), the Chief Judge said "we need to operate overall" in a paperless fashion so that "there is remote capability for every division."

That sub-committee is also consulting with epidemiologists from the University of Miami and the University of Florida concerning appropriate reopening and social distancing measures for the courts statewide.

Soto said that, while new case filings are down across the divisions, all divisions of the civil system in Miami-Dade are "extremely active." She knows so, because she monitors the number of Zoom hearings being conducted by judges throughout the civil divisions. "The entire business model of the courts' divisions totally changed within three weeks," beginning at the start of the stay-at-home orders, and she is inspired by and proud of the "adaptability, dedication and nonstop efforts" of the judges and their staffs to move from their everyday routine work environments to remote operations. "I am inspired by their camaraderie and their willingness to adapt so quickly to the remote environments." Soto joked that the "only Zoom I knew about was the Zoom TV show I watched while growing up."

The chief judge is also addressing back-to-business issues surrounding the existing courthouse, including considering the needs of employees and the public who may be more susceptible to the virus, how to deep clean the structure, how to stagger hearings and calendars, how to continue with those matters that may be handled remotely while starting again in-person hearings, how to enforce mask-wearing and how to minimize crowding inside the courthouse.

Soto emphasized that the courts are "open for business and here for you, whatever you need. We really believe in what we are doing now to make the courts work and deliver to you what we are constitutionally obligated to give," even during the pandemic. And with the social distancing designing of the new courthouse, beyond!

Jeffrey Gilbert is a shareholder in the Miami office of Cozen O'Connor. He focuses his practice on litigating real estate, financial institution and complex commercial foreclosure cases concerning business complexes, hotels, resorts, golf courses and shopping centers throughout the state of Florida.