Miami-Dade courthouse closed after post-Surfside inspection

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Miami-Dade's main civilian courthouse opened in 1928 and is so old that it has already held a trial for Al Capone.

Miami-Dade’s main civilian courthouse opened in 1928 and is so old that it has already held a trial for Al Capone.

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The ailing Miami-Dade County Civil Courthouse was closed on Friday after concerns emerged from a structural and safety inspection ordered following the Surfside condominium collapse.

A court record from Friday described the 1928 courthouse as “temporarily evacuated” and an administrative notice said the closure followed a recent inspection. After the report was submitted on Friday, a closure order was issued for floors 16 and above.

The reason for the shutdown was not stated in the memo, and a court spokesperson was not available for comment.

Chief Justice Nushin Sayfie’s opinion read: “As a precaution, we will evacuate all staff. “

“I know it’s surprising and disturbing,” Sayfie wrote to court staff. “I promise you will get some information as soon as we have it.”

Harvey Ruvin, the elected county clerk, said he was in his courthouse office on Friday. He learned of the emergency shutdown shortly after 5 p.m. and said his staff were preparing to move operations out of the building. “There is a plan in place,” he said.

Ruvin said he got a call with Sayfie, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and county real estate branch chief Alex Muñoz shortly before 9 p.m. to clean the building until more information is available.

“I think she made the right decision,” he said.

Clerks’ staff did not return to work in person at the courthouse until July 1, after more than a year of working remotely during the COVID pandemic. Ruvin said the plan is to return to the remote operation. “We are going back to where we were,” he said.

The security of the courthouse, which once housed a trial for Al Capone, has been a complaint from judges and lawyers for years. Miami-Dade is building a replacement, with plans to sell the historic structure. County administrators have consistently declared the building safe after one-off repairs to deal with exterior facades, leaks, moldy courtrooms and other issues.

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