Those of you in Wyoming probably are already somewhat familiar with the Supreme Court renovations. For those of us working for the Court, it's pretty exciting. Essentially, they're gutting the entire building and reconstructing the inside, plus putting in a new security vestibule (the only renovation apparent from the exterior).
Actually, I should say they've gutted the entire building. They're actually making a lot of progress, and estimates are that we should be back in the building about a year from now. We're starting to look at furniture for our offices, which is pretty cool.
I had the chance last week to go for a little walk-through in the new building. There was a lot on the interior that wasn't framed, but the offices that we were looking at were. The justices will have their (fairly large) offices, complete with a study. Their JAs will have the "gatekeeper" offices. The staff attorney offices don't go directly to the justices' offices, which is a bit of a bummer--I hate to bug our JA, probably doing more important things than I am, just to ask a no-brainer question. Still, considering they said no to the ultra-secret revolving bookcases, I don't see as we have much choice.
One of the coolest features appears to be the new courtroom. The old one was fairly good sized, but the new one will be positively massive. There will be plenty of room for spectators in those big cases; the old one would fill up pretty quickly. None of the walls are there yet, but it's no stretch to imagine what it will look like just from seeing the framing.
Overall, it's really awesome. I've only shared part of what I've seen--you have no idea how much new concrete is being poured, and why. I'm just glad I'm going to get the chance to work in the new building. The latest projections are that we'll be moving in about a year from now. It's very exciting.
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