Judiciary says courthouses are crumbling nationwide, seeks control over properties

The federal judiciary asked Congress on Tuesday for permission to take over management of the nation’s courthouses, saying many are crumbling because of billions of dollars in unmet repairs to elevators, windows, roofs and more.

The General Services Administration has served as the judiciary’s landlord for decades, but the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts said the courthouses have accumulated a growing backlog of $8.3 billion worth of needed fixes. Some emergency repairs, such as storm and water damage, can take years to complete.

The Administrative Office said the deteriorating condition of courthouses has left people trapped in elevators for hours and led to a ceiling collapse during a trial. Mold in the buildings has made employees and judges ill, the office said, and Legionella bacteria has been found in water supplies.

Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr., director of the office, said in a statement that courthouses are “in crisis.”

“Without immediate action, the problems will continue to worsen,” Conrad said. “Action is needed now to reverse a downward spiral of critical-system failures, long-term underfunding of repairs, security risks, and climbing costs.”

The Administrative Office’s request will require congressional action to enact. Representatives of the office also met with GSA officials to discuss the request, saying that they were reluctant to make it but that the lack of repairs had become untenable.

Officials pointed to a water pipe failure at the Everett McKinley Dirksen federal courthouse in Chicago in October 2024 that caused damage across six floors. They said repairs have not begun. The executive and congressional branches of government manage properties they occupy.

Marianne Copenhaver, GSA associate administrator for strategic communications, said in a statement that her agency will continue to work with the judiciary to improve courthouses but that the judiciary should focus on the law while the GSA deals with federal buildings.

“We disagree with the characterization that the federal courthouse portfolio is in ‘crisis’ due to mismanagement,” Copenhaver said. “While aging federal buildings present well-known challenges, their narrative omits critical context regarding our lack of access to GSA’s Federal Building Fund to address delinquent maintenance.”

The federal judiciary occupies 396 government-owned buildings and leases 379 spaces. It pays $1.3 billion in rent to the GSA.