> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Price of justice: $4.4 million - URL: https://www.smdp.com/price-of-justice-4-4-million/ - Published: 2005-04-02T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T06:32:13.000Z - Author: Carolyn Sackariason - Tags: Crime, Santa Monica, #archive-import *Justice is served with opening of court annex* SM COURTHOUSE — Justice here will now be served in style, or at least in acceptable working conditions. After 1 1/2 years of construction and a total cost of $4.4 million, the annex at the Santa Monica Courthouse officially opened on Friday. The building, located in the back portion of the courthouse, will serve as three new civil courtrooms. The two-story, 13,736-square-foot facility will also house a childcare center and self-help center, where law students will assist people who opt to represent themselves. The annex replaced three modular civil courtrooms in the courthouse’s courtyard that were supposed to serve as temporary structures for only two years, but lasted nearly three decades. The buildings, temporarily built for overflow cases, have been in place for at least 25 years. They were beyond repair and beyond healthy, according to Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Linda Lefkowitz, who also is the presiding judge for the West District. She and a host of Superior Court officials presided over Friday’s opening ceremony in the courthouse courtyard, which was attended by about three dozen city and court officials, and lawyers. Officials said the modulars had outlived their useful life and were beyond cost-effective repair. Lefkowitz joked that when she was a trial attorney in 1990, she remembers arguing a case in one of the temporary courtrooms and had to stop talking when she was drowned out by an air-conditioning unit. She knew it was time to resume her arguments because when the air-conditioning unit turned off, water would start to leak into a bucket placed on the floor. Lefkowitz also spoke of the “unique animal population” that lived underneath and in the courtrooms — infested with termites and rodents. And it when it rained, the buildings’ roofs leaked. “I don’t think we need to apologize for the fact that we got these much-needed buildings,” Lefkowitz said. Meanwhile, court staff and judges from Culver City spent Friday moving into the Santa Monica Courthouse. The Culver City Courthouse, which closed on Friday, handled traffic and civil cases under $25,000\. The court system expects to save at least $100,000 a year through the consolidation. Los Angeles County Board Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who represents Santa Monica, was the driving force in getting the new annex approved and funded. Yaroslavsky said the new annex was long overdue, as the modular courtrooms were unacceptable conditions for the staff, the attorneys and the public. “People think we drink Chablis, eat quiche and read the New York Times over here, but that’s not true,” he joked, alluding to many’s perception of the court system’s westside operations. He also said the “old stylistic design” of government buildings has got to go. “People need this facility... and as long as we are spending millions of dollars, we might as well design it to invite the public into it and not repel them from it,” Yaroslavsky said. THE MONEY TREE The building’s construction began in August 2003, even though the project was approved several years prior. However, since adequate funding wasn’t in place to begin construction, it was put on hold. When county officials put the project out for bid in Novemberof2002,thepricetagwas$930,000 more than what had been budgeted for. Yaroslavsky made up the nearly $1 million shortfall with part of the $2 million in county discretionary funds he has at his disposal for capital improvement projects within his district. Some members of the public have scoffed at the idea of renovating the courthouse, especially when state, county and local governments are facing multi-billion budget deficits. But county officials point out that capital improvements are budgeted separate from the operating budget. “When the county spends money on anything, people think it should be used for something else,” Yaroslavsky told the Daily Press in 2003\. “This is what we are precisely supposed to do with our money, it’s capital improvements.” Lefkowitz said the construction contracts were signed right before the state budget crisis was realized and the money had already been allocated. “The state budget crisis hit right when the trailers were torn down,” she said. “And we’ve done it on budget, which is ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/040205-02_01.jpg) Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Linda Lefkowitz speaks to a group of about three dozen people who attended the opening ceremony of the new Santa Monica Courthouse annex on Friday. (Photo: Carolyn Sackariason/Daily Press) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/040205-02_02.jpg) Los Angeles Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Linda Lefkowitz stand in front of a new courtroom at the Santa Monica Courthouse on Friday. (Photo: Carolyn Sackariason/Daily Press) *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 2, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/040205.pdf?ref=smdp.com)