Court Security

Advocacy group sues Denver over courthouse leafleting arrests

A nonprofit advocacy group is suing the city and county of Denver, Colorado, over the arrest last month of two individuals on felony charges as they were distributing literature about jury service at the area’s main criminal courthouse. At issue are efforts by the Fully Informed Jury Association and others…

Aug 20, 2015 9:30 AM CDT

Defendant charged with decking lawyer in court now faces 2 felony trials in same month

When Lance Franklin reportedly decked his defense lawyer in front of the jury and other witnesses during a Kansas rape trial last year, the judge refused to declare a mistrial because that would reward Franklin for his bad behavior. But a subsequent juror medical issue resulted in a mistrial for…

Aug 14, 2015 3:50 PM CDT

Litigious ex-con denied bond over claimed sex-ad post giving FBI agent’s phone number

After being in prison and on probation for the past decade, convicted con man Frederick Banks had a taste of freedom this summer. But it didn’t last long. Known for his prolific federal court litigation, determined by a magistrate to include more than 300 meritless suits between 2004 and 2013,…

Aug 13, 2015 3:50 PM CDT

Man who broke into courthouse and rummaged through sheriff’s refrigerator gets 15 months

A 25-year-old man accused of breaking into a Washington state courthouse and rummaging through a refrigerator in the county sheriff’s office has pleaded guilty to burglary. Daniel Hodson was sentenced last week to 15 months in the Snohomish County case, reports the Daily Herald. He was also ordered to get…

Aug 11, 2015 3:25 PM CDT

57 arrested at federal courthouse in Ferguson anniversary protest; state of emergency declared

Nearly 60 people were arrested Monday at the federal courthouse in St. Louis in what authorities called a peaceful protest by approximately 200 people. Additional protests by some 1,000 people over the weekend of the one-year anniversary of the shooting of an unarmed black teenager by police in nearby Ferguson…

Aug 10, 2015 5:24 PM CDT

Judge lied about claimed toilet-lid attack outside courthouse, jury finds

A former municipal judge in the village of Waterloo, New York, lied when he said two thugs choked him and beat him with a toilet tank lid outside his courthouse in 2013, a jury has concluded. In a Friday verdict, the jury convicted Roger Barto, 54, of insurance fraud, making…

Aug 10, 2015 2:50 PM CDT

Question about court security scan of wallet resulted in trespass arrest, lawyer says in lawsuit

A California lawyer has filed suit against the Fresno County sheriff and two deputies, contending that asking a question about an apparent new courthouse policy of scanning wallets led to his arrest on a baseless trespassing charge. Harry Drandell says in the superior court suit he filed Wednesday that he…

Aug 6, 2015 11:30 AM CDT

Chief judge calls for more traffic court security; says future incident a question of when, not if

The chief judge of a suburban county in the Chicago area says better security is needed in its satellite traffic courts to prevent judges from being targeted by disgruntled defendants. Speaking during a Tuesday budget discussion, DuPage County Chief Judge Kathryn Creswell said at least one of the four courts…

Aug 5, 2015 12:30 PM CDT

Defendant is fatally shot outside courthouse while awaiting hearing with his lawyer

Updated: A defendant in a drug case was killed outside a Mississippi courthouse Monday morning when a former firefighter with no criminal history walked up to him and fatally shot him in the chest, authorities said. A lawyer for Kendrick Armond Brown, 37, was with him at the time for…

Aug 3, 2015 3:15 PM CDT

Man facing charges over ‘storm the courthouse’ posts on Facebook had guns illegally, sheriff says

A 22-year-old man charged with making a threat on Facebook to “storm the courthouse’” in connection with a controversial Kansas felony-murder trial says he made a “poor word choice” and is sorry, but never intended a threat to anyone. Samuel McCrory told KAKE that he wanted to meet with the…

Aug 3, 2015 1:30 PM CDT

Traveling to dangerous areas can leave lawyers vulnerable

With law firms now doing business in all corners of the globe—sometimes potentially dangerous destinations—some question whether their firms are doing enough to keep them safe.

Aug 1, 2015 7:00 AM CDT

Judges reflect on dealing with difficult pro se litigants

In the Northern District of Illinois, judges still remember pro se litigant Bart Ross. Ross was a frequent filer in Chicago federal court, where, the Chicago Tribune says, his filings over a decade often compared doctors, judges and lawyers to Nazis and terrorists. In late 1994, Judge Joan Lefkow dismissed…

Jul 31, 2015 4:25 PM CDT

Man is acquitted in felony murder case, but supporter faces charges over Facebook posts

Concerned that Kyler Carriker would be convicted in a controversial Kansas felony-murder case, Samuel McCrory made a few postings on Facebook, officials say. In fact, Carriker was acquitted Thursday by a Sedgwick County jury. He had faced at least 20 years in prison if he had been found guilty, KAKE…

Jul 31, 2015 1:55 PM CDT

Man charged for claimed Facebook threat to storm courthouse over felony-murder trial

Updated: A unidentified man has been arrested concerning a claimed Facebook threat about a controversial Kansas felony-murder trial. The post was made during jury deliberations regarding a Wichita case against Kyler Carriker, who survived being shot while acting as a middleman for a $1,100 marijuana deal. Carriker was charged with…

Jul 30, 2015 3:05 PM CDT

Suspect is charged 30 years after fatal family-court-related attacks on judges, others

A former firefighter in his late 60s has been arrested and faces more than 30 charges, including murder, in a series of family-court-related attacks that terrorized the legal community in Sydney, Australia, between 1980 and 1985. Leonard John Warwick is accused of killing his brother-in-law, a judge, a judge’s wife…

Jul 29, 2015 12:10 PM CDT