Judge Holds Hearing On Whether Allegheny Co. Courthouse Is Safe From Coronavirus
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Court employees and attorneys are uneasy after some have come down with COVID-19, including Assistant District Attorney Russ Browman, who remains in critical but stable condition in St. Clair Hospital.
Attorney Milton Raiford is among those who wants to shut the courthouse down.
"What's it going to take? Wait for someone we love very much to die in order for us to realize we made a bad mistake in opening things up?" says Raiford.
After Raiford filed a motion to cancel a hearing over COVID fears, Judge Anthony Mariani ordered another to determine whether the courthouse is safe.
Yesterday, Raiford grilled court administrators and says he'll now subpoena County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and present an infectious disease expert to make the case for closure.
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"The court employees, police officers, all subpoenaed witnesses are subject to being exposed to something for which there is no cure, and I think it's wrong to do that," he said.
Before going into the hospital, Broman filed a complaint with OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and KDKA has now obtained a redacted copy.
The complaint cites the courtroom of Judge Susan Evashavik DiLucente and in it, Broman chastises a judge for ignoring safety protocols: "Despite this, Judge (name redacted) made an announcement nobody had to wear masks in her courtroom."
Broman accuses the judge of "criminal negligence" and says his concerns were ignored when he reported her to another person who is also redacted in the complaint, saying: "This blatant coverup of judge's behavior is unconscionable."
Evashavik has declined to comment, but Raiford said the infection of Broman and two other assistant district attorneys is reason enough to shutter the courthouse.
"These are honorable men. They've given everything they have. These minute clerks have give everything they've got. Is this the best you can do?" Raiford said.
