Fort Knox, Ky. — In honor of the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps’ 251st birthday, installation Staff Judge Advocate officials hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the official opening of Fort Knox’s new Joseph Holt Justice Center.
The center was named after and dedicated to Maj. Gen. Joseph Holt, a Kentucky native who served under President Abraham Lincoln as his judge advocate general. Representatives from the Judge Joseph Holt House historic site in Breckinridge County spoke about Holt’s legacy during the event.
“Joseph Holt should be remembered as the loyal American who helped keep Kentucky in the Union, who oversaw the creation of the legal structure of the American Army and who encouraged civilized rules of warfare for the world,” said Kentucky District 2 Court of Appeals Judge Kelly Easton.
“It is to this man that you quite properly dedicate this center.”
Further signifying Holt’s connection to the center the Friends of the Holt Home also donated two ginkgo trees to the center, propagated from the grounds of the Holt estate. The trees will be planted in front of the justice center in the fall and will represent Holt’s local roots.
Following the dedication and cake cutting, attendees were invited to explore the new facility.
While most day-to-day and pretrial operations will still take place at Pike Hall, officials say the new center provides a much larger space for trials to be conducted.
Captain Sarah Williams, SJA special victims counsel, said the congestion of the old space significantly impeded visibility that could prove vital to some cases.
“From the jury panel, if you're in the back seats you can't see the witness’s face,” she said. “And your job is to determine the credibility of the witness.
“There's also a giant pillar in the middle of the courtroom at Pike Hall,” she added – the structure fondly referred to as the “pillar of justice.” Because of this, she said from almost any angle in the room there is a critical portion of the trial that people are unable to see.
Now, as a separate center, she says the size of the court room alone has more than doubled and no longer contains any visual obstructions.
Additionally, there is a large jury deliberations room, and the seating area can now properly fit a full traditional panel of six to eight comfortably with room for more, if needed. In the previous courtroom jury members often sat outside of the panel seating area due to lack of space.
Another benefit of the new location is that it will also allow space for more sensitive cases. Each group of witnesses – government, special victims, defendants – will now have its own room.
“With the available space at Pike Hall sometimes the special victim would have to walk right next to the defendant,” said Williams. “So having a separate space for the special victims was a very intentional choice during the renovations.”
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