Nathan Deal Judicial Center, Atlanta. (Photo: John Disney/ALM)

The state's appellate courts are packing up for the move to the nearly finished Nathan Deal Judicial Center, named for the former governor who appropriated $131 million for the design and building of the project.

Construction started in August 2017. The six-story building was topped out a year ago. Both courts are set to move in December.

"We're up to our eyeballs in packing materials and crates," said Georgia Court of Appeals Clerk Steve E. Castlen. "We're excited about this incredible, historic move, and we're working to make this thing go as smoothly as possible."

Court of Appeals fiscal director Jan Kelley said the project has been part of the strategic plan since 2008. The project's lead architect, Bill Clark of Stevens & Wilkinson, told the Daily Report at the topping-out ceremony that he has been talking with state officials and thinking about the design for 20 years.

The Georgia Supreme Court will move in first. The nine justices and their staff members have a deadline of Dec. 5 to be packed. They will move starting the next day and continuing over the following weekend, according to public information officer Jane Hansen. The high court will be closed the following Monday, then open for business starting Dec. 10 in the new building at 330 Capitol Ave. S.E.

The justices held their last oral arguments in the old judicial building across the street from the Capitol on Nov. 7. On that day, Chief Justice Harold Melton paid tribute to the place that has been the high court's home since 1956.

"To this old building, we are grateful," Melton said. "It has done its job. It has served us well."

Plans call for renovation of the old building for the continued use of the state law department, which now occupies part of that location and others adjacent.

The justices next oral arguments on Jan. 14 are scheduled to be held in their top floor courtroom of the new  building. Their chambers will be on the fifth floor.

The $131 million total appropriated for the new judicial center includes: $7.5 million for design in 2015, $6.5 million in 2016 for demolition of the Georgia Archives building that was previously on the site, $3.5 million from the 2017 supplemental budget for site cleanup, $105 million in construction bonds sold in 2017, and $8.5 million set aside in 2018 for furniture, fixtures and equipment, based on disclosures from state officials over the past four years.

A status report the Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission shared with the Daily Report Monday shows $109.5 million already expended and the rest remaining to be used. The bulk of the cost is for construction—nearly $112 million. The general contractor is Gilbane. The second-largest budget item is for architectural design—$9 million.

The high court also passed an order saying its case-management technology will be transferred to the new building this month, requiring a four-day shutdown of the Supreme Court e-filing docket.

"To accommodate this move the SCED system will not be available from 12:00 a.m. on November 21, 2019, until 8:00 a.m. on November 25, 2019," the order said. "During this period, members of the bar will be unable to electronically file or view documents, view the docket, or use any of the functions of the Court's SCED system. Members of the public will be unable to view the docket on the Supreme Court website, and although the Clerk's office will remain open, the public and pro se parties will not have access to electronic records." The order also reset filing deadlines that fall on Nov. 21 or Nov. 22 to Nov. 25.

The 15-member Court of Appeals and its larger staff of 112 plus interns will move after the Supreme Court, Castlen said.

The Court of Appeals has already moved part of its information technology staff to the new building and so will keep operating in both places until the move is complete, probably in January, according to Casten, although the clerk was careful not to give too exact a schedule.

"I'm a retired Army colonel. I was a JAG officer. In 30 years in the military, my wife and I moved 20 times. There's been a lot of moving in my life," Castlen said. He said he has told his staff, "No plan survives contact with the enemy. And we're expecting Murphy to show up." He cited Murphy's Law: If anything can go wrong, it will.

Castlen said the move is "a complete upheaval of everything" in a building that has been the court's home for more than 50 years. But he said the staff has reduced the burden significantly in recent years anticipating the move, by scanning historic records and documents into computer files and recycling thousands of pages of paper.

Both appellate court clerks' offices will be on the first floor of the new building. The Court of Appeals judges will have chambers on the third and fourth floors—all near each other for the first time. Their courtroom will be on the second floor, Castlen said.

"Now we have judges spread out over different floors and buildings. Some of the offices are not nice. They're awful," Castlen said. "It's overwhelming how great this new building is."

Asked about his tips for transition from his years of military experience, Castlen said, "Enjoy the move. Recognize its historic importance. And help each other in the process."