Renovations almost done on Federal Courthouse, trials to start in Selma again soon 

Scaffolding covers the outside of the federal courthouse in downtown Selma, but renovations to the inside of the courtroom are almost complete.  

After several years of construction to the inside and outside of the more than 100-year-old building – and years of traveling for lawyers and inmates to Mobile for trials – the federal courthouse on Lauderdale Street in Selma is reopen and trials should start there soon.  

“We’re very proud of the courtroom. Over the past several years we have gotten the funding and put the work in to completely restore and refurbish the court room,” Kit Ekman, Clerk of Courts for the Southern District of Alabama.  

The US Attorney's Office announced in 2021 as part of a $1 million Weed and Seed program that the federal courthouse would be renovated to house the office of a local Attorney General prosecutor and send a message to criminals that justice will be served in Selma closer to home.  

Trials in Selma would mean a more efficient justice system by eliminating the need for lawyers and law enforcement with inmates to drive to Mobile for proceedings.  

The first proceeding in the newly renovated courtroom was the Civil Discourse and Difficult Decision Making program on April 3, which included 32 area high school students participating in a mock trial. During which, hammering and even sawing could be heard from outside the courtroom as other renovations continue.  

The building was built in 1909 but has been neglected over the years, Ekman said. He said renovations of the Federal Courthouse “started in earnest in 2022 when there was a problem with the HVAC system.” A freeze over Christmas caused pipes to burst and the courtroom received extensive water damage.  

During the time the courtroom was being renovated, Ekman reported “a lot of proceedings were held in the main courthouse in Mobile, which was not convenient to anyone here.”   

For proceedings that needed to be in Dallas County, the county was accommodating in allowing federal proceedings to be held in the courtroom in the Dallas County Courthouse, he said.  

Even though renovations to the rest of the federal courthouse building continue, Ekman said they plan to hold court in the newly renovated courtroom soon. By this time next year, the repair and renovations to the entire courthouse should be complete. Ekman added that when completed it will be something of which we all can be proud.