The Denver City Council on Monday set public hearings for naming parts of the new Justice Center complex, but not before Councilwoman Jeanne Faatz raised concerns about a proposal to honor the man who pioneered a juvenile court system.
Faatz’s comments raised the prospect of a new round of controversy over names for the buildings, jury room and Justice Center plaza.
Faatz said she thought there should be more discussion about the actions by Benjamin Barr Lindsey.
Supporters of Lindsey say his disbarment for accepting fees in a New York court case was politically motivated. They point out that the disbarment was rescinded.
But Faatz said she thought the issue should get a fuller discussion and added that people were suggesting alternative names for the complex.
The council is set to hold public hearings Monday, then vote on ordinances that will finalize the names.
The proposal is to name the courthouse after Lindsey and James Flanigan, Denver’s first black district judge.
The council is expected to consider naming the detention facility after the city’s former director of corrections, John Simonet, and Philip Van Cise, a former district attorney who prosecuted mobsters and the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s.
The council also will consider naming the jury room at the new courthouse in honor of retired District Judge Roger Cisneros and naming the plaza after former District Attorney Dale Tooley.
Councilman Doug Linkhart said a task force made recommendations to the council, and the council took up the issue in public.
“The process has been thorough,” he said. “It’s been fair, and it’s been exhaustive.”
In other news, the council agreed to hold a public hearing on whether to let businesses put “sandwich board” signs in the public right of way.
Christopher N. Osher: 303-954-1747 or cosher@denverpost.com
