The Justice Center houses in one location everything a justice system needs—the city and county courts,
the
county jail, prosecutor's offices, the sheriff's office, and headquarters for the Cleveland police.
Roughly speaking, the building functions like most hierarchies—vertically. In this case, from the bowels
up.
The main court tower is 26 stories high, so the elevator really runs the place. If a person's arrested
in
Cleveland, they're coming into the Justice Center from the basement. Weary cops escort suspects from the
underground parking garage. They get booked, go up a few floors to the jail.
Once they get a court date they're riding up to one of the courtroom floors. The lower floors are for
lesser
crimes, less hallowed proceedings—misdemeanors, housing court. And the higher floors, starting about
halfway
up the building, are for felonies. Detectives wearing lanyards often get off on the ninth floor where
the
prosecutor's office is. The court stenographers, always courteous, drag their squat wheelie cases on and
off
the elevator. Maybe they chat for a few floors with the officers from the sheriff's department, in
search of
a coffee and a muffin.