The René C. Davidson Courthouse (originally, Alameda County Court House) is the main courthouse, part of the
Alameda County Superior Court
The Alameda County Superior Court, officially the Superior Court of California, County of Alameda, is the California superior court with jurisdiction over Alameda County as established by Article VI of the Constitution of California. It functions ...
system. The
art deco style courthouse was completed in 1934 and is located in the
county seat of
Oakland
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...
, California, USA. It is adjacent to
Lake Merritt.
History
The building was built in 1934 on the edge of
Lake Merritt, originally housing the entirety of the Alameda County Superior Court system. The old courthouse that it replaced was demolished in 1949.
The inscription on the building reads "Alameda County Court House."
In the early 1930s Alameda County District Attorney
Earl Warren
Earl Warren (March 19, 1891 – July 9, 1974) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as the 14th Chief Justice of the United States from 1953 to 1969. The Warren Court presided over a major shift in American constitution ...
sought a modern structure to the replace the antiquated 1893 Alameda County Court House at 4th Street and Broadway. The building served as the office of the Clerk-County Recorder from 1934 to the 2000 when replaced by a new building at 1106 Madison Street in Oakland. The name of Rene C. Davidson was placed on the Alameda County Court House after the death of the longtime Recorder.
In 2016, it was revealed that the
FBI hid microphones outside the courthouse, between March 2010 and January 2011, as part of an investigation into bid rigging and fraud by Alameda and San Mateo County real estate investors, this done without a warrant.
Trials
The
Chauncey Bailey murder trial was held at the courthouse. Thomas Reardon was the presiding judge in the trial, with
Yusuf Bey IV the defendant.
[ ]
Mythbusters
In an episode aired on
29 October 2008, the
Mythbusters
''MythBusters'' is a science entertainment television program, developed by Peter Rees and produced by Australia's Beyond Television Productions. The series premiered on the Discovery Channel on January 23, 2003. It was broadcast internatio ...
used the building to test a jailbreak scenario by having people lower themselves down the facade of the courthouse using ropes made of materials said to be available to inmates: bedsheets, human hair and toilet paper.
References
External links
René C. Davidson Courthouse at the Alameda County Superior Court website
Alameda
Government of Alameda County, California
Government buildings completed in 1934
Skyscraper office buildings in Oakland, California
1934 establishments in California
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