Legal Commentary

The Spring Street Courthouse in Los Angeles, which houses the offices of the U.S. Attorney for California's Central District and the chambers and courtrooms of more than a dozen federal judges.

In many places around the country, the United States Attorney's office is in the same building as the federal courts. I've never liked this arrangement. Sure, it's convenient. And it probably saves the taxpayers money in many cases. But in a field where much is said about "avoiding even the appearance of impropriety," it is unseemly, I think, to have the government's advocates down the hall from the judges.

In a court case, "the government" always refers to one party on one side of the v. "The government" is not inclusive of the court, the judge, and the clerks. So why put them under the same roof?

Of course, I personally am not worried about our third branch being able to maintain its integrity despite being roommates with the U.S. Attorney's office. But I'm a law professor. I know a few federal judges, a few federal prosecutors, and a slew of ex-clerks. Whether I am worried is irrelevant. The question is, do these office arrangements cause any regular people on the street to have some inkling of doubt about the independence of the judiciary? I think the answer is, of course they must.

We seem to agree that appearances matter when it comes to the courts. Judges wear robes. Courtrooms look grand and dignified. There is copious use of granite and marble. And on and on. It just seems like the right thing to do is to have all attorneys and litigants walk through the same doors.