Blackwell-Thurmon Criminal Justice Center

Civic duty time! I don’t know why I even get summons anymore. I’m far too judge-​y to be put on a jury. But since they’re paying me $ 6 whole american dollars to be there, I suppose I’ll show.
It’s actually not bad (assuming you don’t get picked) — they’ve got wifi, clean bathrooms, a good AC. The parking is horrendous of course but you can get a parking ticket dismissed if you get one. Our presiding judge was pretty funny and the process was clear. The court we were in was a domestic violence one and people revealed some pretty uncomfortable information during the voir dire process.
There are bathrooms on both the 3^rd and 4^th floor (but none I could find on the 1^st as I ran around doing the pee pee dance) so if one is crowded and smells like 1000 farts (in this case, the 3^rd) you can always hop the vator to the other one.

Ewww, not how I wanted to start the new year but when Duty (JuryDuty) calls, one must answer.
The building itself is impressive and yep, it looks like a «Justice Center» or as I like to call it courthouse. Parking in the area is a bear so show up early and be prepared to feed the meter.
Upon entering your are greeted, by a handful of Travis County Officers. Perhaps greeted is the wrong word, lets say they grunt you. Yes, grunted is more appropriate. At this particular location or maybe it was just my lucky day, the people overseeing the screening were less than articulate and seemed to think that either I was the devil herself or perhaps one of her handmaidens, either way they set the tone and lets just say its not nice. They reminded me of how TSA officers use to act before the public backlash. Guess these public sector employees did not get the memo that one can be professional, polite and authoritative.
After being screened you enter a large open area. This area could benefit from proper, clearly marked signs so that people can find the location they need to go to. I notice a few people behind me that appeared to be lost as well, as fate would have it they ended up on the same elevator as me and yes, they too were potential jurors. Once the elevator got us to our floor the door opened and the smell of desperation blew in. We walked into a narrow long room filled with metal chairs and people from all over Austin, half of them looking desperate to escape and the other half seemed excited at the possibility that they may actually get selected to serve on a jury. This room had a distinctive odor, it reminded me of a cross between a thrift store and nursing home you know musky, desperate and smelling of various body odors.
I won’t bore you with the rest of the process or the case details since #1. I was eventually dismissed and #2 Not sure if I am legally allowed. I will say that as the process moved along the next room and seating improved significantly as did the people that work for the county that we had to interact with.
These people were professional, articulate and well mannered proving that civility is not lost with everyone that works at the county.

I mean, its a courthouse, so what am I going to review, really?
I was there for jury duty, and getting in through security was easy peasy. Two of the elevators were out of service, and there was a line about 50 people long to get in the other two, so I decided to hoof it up to the 8^th floor.
When I asked a guard about walking up, he laughed and said, «Good luck!» I must admit, it was a pretty decent workout, but I made it ok and lived to tell the tale.
Otherwise, it’s your standard government office building, neither comfortable nor uncomfortable. The one thing which bugged me was that they didn’t build parking for the building. At first I was miffed about having to find street parking, but the bailiff told us that they pay for any parking tickets, so no harm no foul.
Hopefully if I ever go back, its for jury duty and not any other reason…

Whether you find yourself facing a $ 20 fine, or 20 years in prison, this is the place to go.
You can get your booking photos, pay all your monies, see all the judges, get frisked, and grab a quick snack or coffee here.
They delightfully display your name on a screen, for all to see, and have padded benches in each and every courtroom.
The Honorable Nancy Hohengarten is always a pleasure to see. By «pleasure
to see,» I mean she knows me by name, and always greets me with a smile. Judge Mike Denton is also a good man, who loves to use his gavel.
Minus one star for the shame you will feel.