A first-time visitor to the newly restored offices for the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco immediately understands why this Beaux Arts building is known as "the Palace." The building, located at the corner of Seventh and Mission streets, was badly damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Now, though, the glorious building is restored to its original splendor -- and far, far beyond.
Excesses in federal spending are nothing new. The Pentagon has spent hundreds of dollars for a hammer, and hundreds more for a toilet seat. The massive new Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington D.C. is said to be the biggest boondoggle in the history of federal construction projects. Four years behind schedule and nearly $500 million over budget, the project now is expected to cost more than $800 million.
At $111 million, then, the renovation of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals building in San Francisco might seem relatively modest, in federal terms. But only in those terms.
In fact, the federal government spared very little expense restoring the building, a national landmark and a fine example of American Renaissance architecture designed by James Knox Taylor in the late 1890s. Under the direction of the General Services Administration, the three-year renovation was completed in October 1996. The Ninth Circuit moved into its newly refurbished building last January.
The GSA commissioned structural improvements, notably a $30 million earthquake-protection system designed to cushion the building in future temblors. Plumbing, electrical, and heating systems were all modernized and upgraded as well.
But the judges of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals went beyond earthquake preparedness and simple restoration, beyond the necessities, even beyond luxury. The appellate justices decided they would use the earthquake as an opportunity to build, refurbish, and improve upon their work quarters.
By the time the renovation project was done, the court had paid the architectural firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill $8.4 million for design services -- nearly four times the amount originally estimated for design. At completion, the $54 million construction contract for interior renovation had been overrun by more than $20 million, or about 40 percent.
Time after time, the judges of the Ninth Circuit, well-known for their left-leaning decisions and concern for the underprivileged, required premium-quality materials where standard grades would have done just as well. Of course, top-rated mahogany, carpets of 100 percent New Zealand virgin wool, imported marble, and the finest quality leathers have their prices, and those prices add up. About $12 million of the renovation project went for interior finishes alone.
Historians and architects have hailed the Seventh and Mission structure as one of the nation's finest examples of Beaux Arts architecture. The 1905 building, which housed the Post Office and the federal courts for more than 80 years, is particularly significant to San Francisco history; it was one of the only structures to survive the 1906 earthquake, and served as the city's main communications center after the temblor. Great moments in history transpired within its walls. It was here that the federal government heard such famous cases as the Tokyo Rose and Japanese Internment trials. Few could argue, then, that this significant building was unworthy of restoration after the 1989 quake.
The judges of the Ninth Circuit certainly made no such argument. Those justices, who angered Pacific Northwest logging interests by upholding decisions that protected the spotted owl and the trees it lives in, had no problem whatsoever swathing the Ninth Circuit courthouse with thousands of square feet of top-quality lumber. And the directions relating to the wood were precise. According to the specifications for the project, nothing less than premium grade maple, cherry, and mahogany could be used. And, project contractors were told, the wood used in all four stories of the 370,000-square-foot building must be "free from cat's-eyes, bird's-eyes, burls, splits, shakes, sap wood, wind checks, resin deposits, [and] mineral discolorations."
Wood window frames are made of solid mahogany, carefully kiln-dried to a designated moisture content at the time of fabrication. The judges' chambers include hand-crafted, built-in wooden filing cabinets and shelves.
In the new 46,000-square-foot library and atrium structure at the core of the building, carpenters used thousands of square feet of premium cherry to build bookcases and other shelving. Restoring Senior Judge Joseph Sneed's chambers alone took 1,721 square feet -- or $52,000 -- of cherry paneling.
Much of the original marble was carefully removed and then replaced in the building. But where new marble was needed, builders were required to match the original eight varieties of stone used in 1905. Among the types used were Panonezza marble from Italy and white marble from Vermont. Suppliers were directed to fabricate marble thresholds of the "highest grade Madre Cream, Alabama or Georgia white marble," roughly priced at $45 per square foot. But not all of the imported marble went toward restoration. There were entirely new marble furnishings -- door trim, counter tops, and in the court's executive offices, a reception desk counter made of imported Hualien green Chinese marble.
Floor coverings include similar excesses. On the third floor, in Courtrooms One, Two, and Three, contractors used roughly 400 square yards of sea-foam-green, 100 percent virgin wool carpet that cost about $100 per square yard. On the second floor, Courtroom Four got a more reasonably priced wool carpet. It was just $80 per square yard.
And how can justice be administered without the proper appointments? Lighting fixtures were specially created by the internationally renowned lighting consultant Claude R. Engle, whose firm designed fixtures for the Richelieu Wing of the Louvre and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Engle's firm designed the new chrome and frosted glass fixtures in the library, and the bronze and pewter reproductions that were cast to replace the 1905 originals that had been damaged.
Clocks from the pre-earthquake building were deemed unsuitable for the new structure, as they did not reflect the historic style of the building. Thus, 88 new clocks were purchased at a cost of $850 each, or $75,000. The GSA installed two white marble lavatory tops in a fourth-floor public bathroom, for a mere $1,800. The new leather covering for the judges' bench in Courtroom One, the "ceremonial courtroom," is made of premium Italian cowhide; the handrail in the judges' elevator in the 1933 wing of the building is wrapped in premium Italian calfskin.
The attention to detail extends even to the inch-and-a-half-tall letters marking the main door to the new library. That you are entering the library is spelled out in 23 karat gold leaf.
The judges' bench in Courtroom Two is no less than a work of art, a masterpiece in hand-crafted marble, wood, and inlaid Venetian glass. Made of deeply luminescent red Egyptian marble and decorated with tiny, gemlike glass tiles, it stands magnificently at the head of the marble-walled courtroom. One look at the bench tells you the federal government was by no means stingy when the 1905 courthouse was built.
In the 1996 renovation, the government didn't skimp on new furniture either. Many furnishings from the old building, like the red marble bench, were stored and then reinstalled in the redone structure. But the GSA purchased $1 million of top-quality office furniture in addition to the custom-built furnishings, including a $5,000 conference table and $94,000 of new chairs (197 at $475 apiece).
And that doesn't include the dozen or so brass-domed swing-top garbage cans found throughout the courthouse. Or the new exercise room for courthouse employees on the first floor of the building, which has free weights, exercise mats, two treadmills, a Lifestep StairMaster, and three Cybex machines.
Nearly a quarter of the $1 million went towards additional furniture for the new library. The shopping list included: 22 ergonomic desk chairs for $10,455, including four from Relax: The Back Store, at $540 apiece; 16 chairs for the reading room, $708 each; and a $1,500 filing cabinet. GSA records also list a 42-inch wooden, podiumlike stand for the library's dictionary. The stand alone cost as much as one military toilet seat: $600.
Although Congress funded the renovation of "the Palace," and the GSA managed the project, the judges of the Ninth Circuit certainly had their opportunities to provide input, attending several committee meetings and private consultations with the architectural firm that designed the redone building, Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. After these meetings, the court requested several hundreds of thousands of dollars in modifications to the building. Contractors billed the GSA $81,500 in overtime, just to complete the changes.
Among other things, the judges directed architects to revise the floor plan so that there would be an internal corridor adjacent to the main public corridor, "a more discreet" entry for the judges. They also added library rooms in each of the second floor judges' suites, and redrew plans to move the utility rooms.
"The judges stated that it is not acceptable to have the utility function adjacent to judge's office," Ninth Circuit Judge Mary Schroeder wrote on behalf of her colleagues, in a June 1992 memo. Utility rooms were relocated to more "acceptable" locations -- between the offices for judicial clerks and secretaries.
The justices added marble mosaic tiling behind their benches in Courtrooms One, Two, and Three, costing taxpayers an additional $21,250.
Then came the private toilets in five nonresident judicial suites, offices used by visiting judges. Only three of the Ninth Circuit judges maintain chambers in San Francisco: Most live elsewhere, and come to San Francisco only occasionally. The toilets were put in, even though the nonresident suites are seldom used -- adding another $78,000 to the cost of the project.
The invitation to participate in the design discussions drew response not just from judges, but from at least one judicial spouse. Judge James R. Browning deferred to his wife, Marie Rose Chapell Browning, to supervise the final touches to his suite. Apparently, the judicial spouse was not happy with the architects' choice of carpet for her husband's chambers. According to a February 1995 memo from Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, Mrs. Browning was not shy about expressing herself. At a January 1995 meeting, she declined to approve all the varieties of high-quality nylon carpet the architects offered.
"Mrs. Browning explained that 100 percent wool of 'velvet' type cut pile with a carved border ... would be acceptable floor covering," the memo said.
The firm's choice of counter-top materials for the small galley area adjoining Judge Browning's chambers also failed to meet Mrs. Browning's standards. Project specifications called for a standard laminate counter; Mrs. Browning, however, wanted Corian, an expensive, high-quality, heat-proof material that looks like marble. Mrs. Browning ultimately "compromised" and settled for a white Calacatta marble in the kitchen.
As far as jobs go, being a federal appellate judge is a pretty good gig. Circuit judges are appointed by the President, confirmed (or not) by the Senate, and then serve lifelong terms. Thirteen of the Ninth Circuit's 18 active judges, including Chief Judge Procter Hug Jr., are Carter appointees, but the court is fairly evenly split between Democrats and Republicans. A judge who reaches age 65 and has served for 15 years can assume senior status -- and retire on full salary for the rest of his life. Currently, the Ninth Circuit has 18 active judges, and 10 vacant judgeships. The job pays $145,000 a year, plus health benefits, a tax-deferred savings plan, and $139,000 in life insurance. Schedules are flexible, with unlimited sick or vacation days based simply on need and caseloads.
Ninth Circuit judges typically hear oral arguments the first week of each month: During the remaining three weeks, judges can work from home or wherever they wish. The schedules are loose enough to allow conservative Judge Alex Kozinski -- a Reagan appointee and the youngest appellate court judge this century -- time to write guest columns on video games for Microsoft's Web magazine, Slate. Unlike the Supreme Court's chief justice, appellate court judges of the Ninth Circuit do not get chauffeured to and from the courthouse. But they do get their own underground parking spaces.
Federal appellate judges consider appeals from decisions made by the federal district courts. Ninth Circuit judges typically hear cases in three-judge panels, though in rare instances the full court will reconsider cases en banc. Each year, the Supreme Court reviews what it considers the most important decisions made by the 11 appellate courts: This year 21 of the 80 cases the Supremes will hear are from the Ninth Circuit.
Being a Ninth Circuit judge is not all sunshine and roses. The largest and busiest appeals court in the United States, the Ninth Circuit hears more than 8,000 appeals each year. Its jurisdiction includes more than 50 million people in the nine western states, plus Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.
The Ninth Circuit has earned the dubious reputation as the most reversed federal appellate court in the land, regularly (some say deliberately) crossing the Supreme Court on issues ranging from the death penalty to welfare benefits. Last year alone, the Supreme Court overturned 28 of the 29 Ninth Circuit decisions it reviewed.
The Ninth Circuit is also known as the most liberal appellate court in the system, a defender of the variously oppressed. Welfare recipients, illegal immigrants, and death row inmates have all had sympathetic receptions before the Ninth Circuit. This is, after all, the court that ruled Rastafarians can use their religious belief in marijuana as a sacrament as a defense against drug possession charges.
A frustrated Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist once remarked in a newspaper article that "some panels of the Ninth Circuit have a hard time saying no to any litigant with a hard-luck story."
The Ninth Circuit's reputation has fueled a proposal to split the court, separating what Washington Republicans perceive as California's pervasive left-leaning influence from the rest of the court. The split would create a new Twelfth Circuit and a greatly reduced Ninth Circuit that would cover only California, Nevada, Guam, and the Marianas. A congressional committee has begun a general study of all the federal circuit courts, which includes a possible Ninth Circuit split, and is expected to report back within a year. Splitting the Ninth Circuit into two appellate courts would, of course, create a need.
A need for another appellate courthouse.
It's easy to make the case for restoring a magnificent historic structure like the U.S. Court of Appeals building in San Francisco. It's not so easy to make the case for 40 percent cost overruns and $33,000 desks.
The people directly responsible for the project don't seem to have much of a problem with its ultimate cost. General Services Administration regional spokeswoman Mary Filippini admits that a $20 million increase in the original construction contract is "considerable," though she says there might be some "mitigating circumstances because of the historical nature of the project."
But as for expensive particulars such as $33,000 desks and carpets running $100 per square yard, the GSA referred queries to the Ninth Circuit. "The GSA is the developer. The client is the party that asks for certain things," says Filippini.
The appeals court, in this case, is the client. When asked about the extravagant spending that went into the building, court staff prefer to talk about seismic costs, not cost overruns. Judge Browning, for one, insists the renovations were modest. A friendly, soft-spoken man, he says he didn't pay much attention to the new furnishings in his suite and elsewhere in the building.
"I don't want to nitpick about how much things cost," says Browning, a Kennedy appointee.
The 100 percent wool carpet Mrs. Browning chose is "just a regular brownish carpet," and he thinks the marble counter top in the galley is "some kind of stone." As for the choice of materials used in other parts of the the building -- well, Browning says, those decisions were left in the able hands of the GSA and the contractors.
"You wouldn't come in and put plywood next to finely wrought oak bookcases, would you?" he asks. "I doubt that they could have done [the renovation] less expensively.
