Modern courthouses are changing as judicial facilities continue to embrace impressive architectural features while incorporating welcoming, yet secure, design and cutting edge technology. A perfect example is the Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse, located in Long Beach, California which embarked on an ambitious construction project to create a safe facility that improved proceedings and better served the community.
THE CHALLENGE
Notorious for its long lines, overcrowded waiting rooms, and general inefficiencies, the 55-year-old facility was considered one of the most outdated and unsafe judicial facilities in the country. In addition to being rundown, there were concerns ranging from seismic safety to faulty escalators. Given the building’s space limitations, inmates often crossed paths with case judges in public hallways - causing additional safety concerns. The State of California worked with the private consortium – Long Beach Judicial Partners LLC - to build and manage the facilities for this first-of-its-kind project. The result is an entirely new facility that meets the needs of the Long Beach community, as well as providing a judicial center serving the 5,000 people who use the courthouse every day.
“The city of Long Beach was in dire need of a new courthouse that would use best-ofclass technology, forward-thinking design concepts, and eye-catching materials to create a modernized environment that both served the needs of the justice system and the citizens of California,” said Frank Vass, Manager of Engineering for ExhibitOne Corporation, the system integrator responsible for this project. “This meant rethinking the entire space, from the traffic flow of citizens waiting to appear in court to ensuring that side-by-side courtrooms were sufficiently sequestered in order to maintain the environment required during court proceedings.”
SOLUTION
With many new design materials making their way into contemporary construction projects, ensuring flawless AV delivery meant creating an audio solution that addressed the complexities resulting from spaces of varying size, configuration and use. Within the new $347 million Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse, ExhibitOne needed to ensure that every audio and video system implemented across the 531,000-square-foot building would produce the results required for a zero-failure installation. This meant selecting missioncritical systems and components for use across 31 courtrooms, the facility’s jury assembly space, and for the courtroom’s audio/video equipment room. Furthermore, the courthouse required portable videoconferencing capabilities in order to rapidly facilitate offsite visual communications, plus the ability to extend paging across the entire building when needed.
To ensure robust audio capabilities across the building, ExhibitOne turned to Biamp Systems’ portfolio of digital signal processing (DSP)-based commercial audio solutions. Using a combination of the company’s award-winning Tesira® and Audia® digital audio platforms, the integrator was able to successfully provide high-quality audio capabilities to a variety of areas, from judicial conference rooms to the jury assembly room and more.
“The sheer size of the courthouse’s audio system made it an extremely unique installation,” shared Vass. “We needed a system that could provide reliable audio data delivery - even in an overflow capacity - while respecting the acoustics of the design materials installed throughout the building. We knew from experience that Biamp equipment could easily handle the scope and customization levels that we required. The flexibility, power, and reliability of the Tesira-Audia combined solution allowed us to satisfy each technical requirement, while giving us the ability to adjust the system easily as changes to the system requirements came up. The Biamp sales and support staff were instrumental in completing this massive project on time - I applaud the incredible dedication they have for their partnerships.”
A graduate of DeVry Institute of Technology, Doug has been in the Technology industry since 1976 and actively oversees Fearing’s daily operations. Along with his wife, Lois, and three others, Doug started Fearing’s in a 600 square-foot facility in Portage, Wisconsin. In the 25 years since, the company has grown to over 30 employees with offices in Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Doug likes to say he’s a “TV Technician with a dream� going back to his history with the family’s original business-Fearing’s TV and Appliance.
Doug values time with family, watersports, hiking, snowshoeing and skiing. In addition to being a devoted member of his church, Doug serves as Board President for Kinship Mentoring of Columbia County, Board member of Schools for Haiti and Scripture Chair of the Gideons-Portage camp.
A graduate of MATC, Lois oversees Fearing’s daily book keeping along with various HR responsibilities.
Along with Doug, Lois is deeply connected to community outreach, serving as a Board member and Fundraising Committee Chairperson for Kinship Mentoring of Columbia County. She also serves on the Schools for Haiti Fundraising committee. In addition, Lois’ ongoing passion and commitment to provide care for the elderly comes from her 10-year history of working in a Reedsburg, Wisconsin Nursing home.
Lois enjoys singing, hiking, sunny days on the pontoon, and spending time with her 4 grandchildren.
Ehren drives Fearing’s technology by continually seeking out trends to enhance capabilities while supporting Sales, Engineering and Installation teams. Throughout his years with Fearing’s, Ehren’s talent and vision have joined forces to create a wide variety of projects and strategic solutions that exceed expectation.
Ehren loves music, family time, movies, nature, sustainability efforts and electric vehicles.
With 10 years with Fearing’s and over twice that long in the industry, Ben continues to lead, coordinate, and develop the Commercial AV team.
By consistently delivering an outstanding experience and outcome, Ben contributes to the Fearing’s legacy of long-lasting partnerships that truly make a difference. Whatever the Commercial AV need may be, Ben and team deliver at the highest level.
Ben is an avid fisherman and photographer. He enjoys coaching his sons and other youth.
Chris has been with Fearing’s for 20 years and in the industry for over 2 decades. As a Certified leader in Sales Acceleration and trained in EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating Systems), Chris successfully utilizes his skills to lead the Fearing’s Salesforce. Chris and team are motivated and driven to develop new client partnerships while continuing to reinforce loyal long-term relationships with ongoing Service excellence.
Married for 19 years with 3 children, Chris enjoys skiing, hiking, fishing, boating, hunting, camping and golf. He’s also been actively involved as a Youth Football and Softball coach for his family and others.
