The judges' first opinions in February were less than praiseworthy. They thought the glass-walled front of the building would make them sitting ducks for potential terrorist snipers or underworld assassins firing from a vehicle on nearby Interstate 4.

The General Services Administration, the largest property owner in the United States and an historical tyrant on property matters, was not amused by the judges' opinions. But the GSA, under local and Washington political pressure, took the project back to the drawing board in a rare display of retreat.

"You can count on one hand the number of times the GSA has taken a blueprint back to its architects after federal judges or other government officials said they didn't like the looks of a project," an Orlando independent space planner intimate with the courthouse design tells GlobeSt.com on condition of anonymity.