Washington—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today announced that construction of a new Los Angeles federal courthouse has taken a crucial step forward.  The General Services Administration (GSA), the agency responsible for U.S. government real estate, has requested bids to begin the design and construction of the new facility.

Feinstein said: “There is a space emergency at the Los Angeles Federal Courthouse, one of the busiest federal courts in the country.  The two buildings that currently house the court suffer from significant capacity and security problems, and a new facility is necessary for a properly functioning justice system.” 

Congress first authorized the site, design and acquisition for a new federal courthouse in Los Angeles in 2000.  The project was declared a space emergency by the Judicial Conference of the United States in 2003 and has been the judiciary’s top building priority since that time.

The Los Angeles court handles a high percentage of complex criminal cases related to drugs, murder, mafia and terrorism.  A request to create new permanent judgeships for the district to handle the court’s pressing caseload is pending before Congress.

“This courthouse has been on the drawing board for too long. The funding was approved by Congress more than 11 years ago,” Feinstein added.  “I am pleased GSA is taking this crucial step forward to begin construction, create thousands of jobs in the construction sector and finally complete this project.  It’s time to get it done.”

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