White Pine County Courthouse

The two-story Italianate building, made of stone, is crowned by a small copper-domed cupola.[2] The building is sited on a hilltop near the commercial section of Ely,[2] with the city's middle school, library, senior citizen center, several houses, and a park in close proximity.[3][4][5] A World War I memorial plaque is located in front of the courthouse, and lists 35 White Pine County residents who died during the war.[6][7]

The courthouse was built in 1908, and replaced a temporary wood frame courthouse that itself replaced a structure that burned in 1885 in the former county seat of Hamilton. A copper boom allowed the county to invest in the present substantial two-story structure, designed by George T. Beardslee and built by R.E. Dodson and G.W. Weller for $49,688. A two-story jail was added to the rear in 1925.[2]

The courthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 11, 1986.[1] A seating area was added outside the courthouse in 2004.[8] By June 2005, the building had received new paint and carpeting.[9]

By the mid-1960s, the jail and a sheriff's office located inside the courthouse were deemed as no longer secure.[10] A new courthouse was proposed in 1966, as part of a civic complex that would include other buildings.[11] As of 1967, the county commission favored a new courthouse complex, but the project did not materialize because of concerns about square footage and construction costs.[12] A structure known as the Public Safety building was later opened elsewhere in Ely in 1976, to house the jail and sheriff facilities.[10]

In 2005, a funding bill to construct a new $11 million judicial facility was rejected by the Nevada Legislature.[13][14] In September 2006, the county commission voted unanimously to spend $100,000 to $120,000 to hire two bailiffs for the courthouse, a recommendation that came from Seventh Judicial Judge Dan L. Papez,[14] who worked in the building.[15] Prior to that time, deputies from the county police department worked as bailiffs during trials and were also supposed to visit the courthouse twice on days when trials were not being held. However, because of other duties, deputies did not always have time to visit the courthouse.[14]

Papez also noted that some of Nevada's most dangerous criminals were kept at Ely State Prison and were sometimes brought to the courthouse. The Ely Times, the local newspaper, wrote at the time, "Security at the courthouse now is haphazard at best and non-existent the majority of the time. While there is a metal detector at the top of the stairs on the second floor, all of the courthouse doors stay unlocked throughout the day. And people who take the elevator to the second floor avoid the single metal detector." Papez planned to start having all entrances locked during the day, aside from the main entrance.[14]

In February 2007, Nevada governor Jim Gibbons and State Senator Bob Beers of Las Vegas toured the courthouse and joined a list of judges and lawmakers who supported the construction of a new, $14 million judicial complex.[16] State funding was required for a new courthouse, but lawmakers had concerns about the ability of the county to pay for future expenses at the new facility. To alleviate these concerns, the county planned to introduce a draft proposal which would pay for the new facility's daily operations in the form of a pre-funded $4 million courthouse trust.[17]

In March 2007, Nevada Supreme Court Chief Justice William Maupin called the courthouse "one of the most dangerous locations in this state," saying, "Nevada's most dangerous criminal defendants, those incarcerated at the Ely State Prison, frequently appear in court in Ely and sit in a witness box that is within arm's reach of juror positions one and two."[13] In his proposed budget, Gibbons included $6.5 million for a new county judicial facility. State lawmakers reduced the amount to $1.5 million, to pay for updated security measures at the current courthouse. In June 2007, five Democrat state lawmakers from Clark County eliminated funding for the courthouse entirely.[18][19]

In October 2007, the United States Marshals Service completed a federal study of the building, as requested by Papez.[15] Vincent Freiburger of the U.S. Marshals Service wrote in his report, "Not only is the site location unacceptable, but the facility will never meet minimum security standards based upon design and infrastructure issues." At the time, Justice Court proceedings were held in the building's small basement, which lacked an emergency exit. Plumbing and electrical lines were also exposed throughout the structure. The U.S. Marshals Service report confirmed earlier findings in 2003 by the Nevada Supreme Court's Commission on Rural Courts. Freiburger made a recommendation to the county to find an alternative courthouse location, stating, "Should a serious security breach occur, the close proximity could endanger residents and many of the middle school children in the immediate area."[15][20]

The courthouse remained open as there were no other court facilities in the county.[4] In January 2010, Papez said that security had improved at the courthouse and that he felt comfortable being in the building. Papez also said that he and his staff were working to further improve security.[21] In March 2010, the Seventh Judicial District Court banned visitors from carrying weapons inside the building.[22]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to White Pine County Courthouse.

• White Pine County Courthouse, Online Nevada Encyclopedia
• Photographs of the White Pine County Courthouse at the National Park Service's NRHP database