Judges, County Push to Retain Jackson Courthouse

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Federal judges in Wyoming are teaming up with Teton County commissioners to try to prevent the U.S. General Services Administration from selling a small federal courthouse building in downtown Jackson.

The federal court system closed the Clifford P. Hansen U.S. Courthouse last month as part of a national cost-cutting effort.

Teton County Commissioner Hank Phibbs says the GSA has said it intends to sell the building.

Phibbs says he and another commissioner traveled last week to Washington, D.C. They met with Wyoming's congressional delegation to push for legislation to transfer the building to the county.

Chief U.S. District Judge Nancy Freudenthal of Cheyenne says she and other federal judges in the state want the courthouse remain open to handle criminal cases from Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks.