“If you’re disabled, it’s pretty challenging”

Old Courthouse. Summer 2021.

Excerpt from interview with Richard, a lawyer and organizer in San Jose. Summer 2021.

Interviewer: And then if you could change either the Hall of Justice or the Old Courthouse in any way, what things would you change about these courts and the way they do business or the structure of them?

Richard: Well, you know, I think the problem is that the justice system has its own limitations. And so, you can repackage it and whatever, but I mean, to change it, it needs, you know, kind of a more deep kind of change than just to change the facade. I mean the Old Courthouse, just, for example, you know, if you're disabled, it's pretty challenging. I mean, I know they have some accessible entrances I think on the back side, but it's not that simple. And it's, uh, I would say, pretty challenging for the Old Court courthouse because it has these funny steps that aren't very even, so if you are disabled and you try to manage getting up those steps, I would say it would be pretty much impossible, but again, I know there's an access point in the back, but I'm not sure that that's that clear to folks. The newer Hall of Justice... Yeah. I mean, I guess it's a bit more accessible. I mean, I've been to protest and picket lines outside of that building. And so, you know, there are spaces there for us to do what we need to do. Um, and there are, you know, spots for people who have access issues to get it. So, in that sense, it's an improvement. The Old Courthouse, it just...I mean, it's historical and I get it, but it's just, again, it would be hard to manage getting up those steps.