Falasco name to be transferred to new courthouse
The new courthouse being constructed in Los Banos will retain its name, according to Merced County Superior Court CEO Linda Romero-Soles.
The name Robert M. Falasco Justice Center will be transferred to the new facility, Romero-Soles confirmed in an email to the Enterprise.
Maintaining the same name for the court was not a given. Merced Superior Court in Los Banos was renamed for retired longtime Judge Robert Falasco in 2007. Falasco died in 2012.
The name of the new courthouse at 1159 G St. is determined by the state court system. The policy is to not name a facility after someone who has been deceased less than 10 years.
Mayor Mike Villalta, the Merced County Board of Supervisors and Merced County Superior Court Judge Brian McCabe all wrote letters in support of keeping the Falasco name.
“Robert Falasco ... could always be relied upon to provide fair-minded and knowledgeable rulings. He served as a mentor, respected leader and loyal friend and touched the lives of many in the San Joaquin Valley,” Villalta’s letter reads.
The name request and the letters of support were forwarded to the state courts facilities subcommittee. The name transfer was approved by the California Judicial Council on Aug. 21.
The state has authorized $32.6 million to be spent in Los Banos on construction of the new court building, which will include two courtrooms with room to expand to four. The latest state figures have the courthouse being built for $26.3 million. It is funded through trial court user fees approved by Senate Bill 1407, according to Superior Court officials. Romero-Soles said the court will be completed for no more than the amount budgeted by the state.
The new 29,511-square-foot structure will replace the current obsolete and overcrowded facility on I Street. Construction of the new facility began in July.
The current courthouse occupies about 5,370 square feet of its 15,000-square-foot building. The one-courtroom structure is owned by Merced County and shared by the Merced County Sheriff’s Department, Probation Department, county clerk and public defender. The District Attorney’s Office is in a portable building at the rear of the permanent structure. A feasibility report identified numerous deficiencies at the facility, which was built in 1980.
The courthouse is scheduled to open in the fall of 2016.
The facility will expand court services for West Side residents and will include criminal, civil, family, traffic, small claims, juvenile and probate proceedings, officials said.
This story was originally published September 6, 2015 at 4:36 PM with the headline "Falasco name to be transferred to new courthouse."