Court Security

Prosecutor Helped Bailiff Disarm Alleged Courthouse Shooter, While Defense Lawyer Helped Victims

New details emerging in last week’s courthouse shooting in Northern Minnesota showcase the heroics of a bailiff and lawyers on the scene. Assistant Cook County Attorney Molly Hicken helped bailiff Gary Radloff disarm the suspect, while defense lawyer John Lillie III of St. Paul helped the victims, escorting one of…

Dec 20, 2011 1:27 PM CST

Former Boxer Accused of Shooting and Wounding Prosecutor, Two Others at Minn. Courthouse

A former boxer on trial for criminal sexual conduct is accused of shooting and injuring a prosecutor and two others in a courthouse in Northern Minnesota late Thursday afternoon. The prosecutor, Cook County Attorney Timothy Scannell, underwent surgery last night, report the Duluth News Tribune, WTIP and the Associated Press.…

Dec 16, 2011 11:56 AM CST

County Board Keeps Courthouse Display Policy for Now, Despite Skeleton Santa

Loudoun County commissioners in Leesburg, Va., discussed ending courthouse holiday displays Tuesday evening after controversy erupted over a skeleton Santa on a cross. Skeleton Santa was erected under a county board policy adopted last year that allows 10 holiday displays on the courthouse lawn on a first-come, first-served basis, MSNBC.com…

Dec 7, 2011 1:55 PM CST

Courthouse Burglar Takes Judge’s Robe; DA Calls Incident a ‘Wake-Up Call’ re Security Issues

A burglar broke into a Wisconsin courthouse and stole a judge’s robe last week, but nothing else. The culprit, who was recorded on surveillance footage, will be difficult to identify because he was wearing a heavy coat and sunglasses, reports the Ashland Current. Ashland County Judge Robert Eaton had a…

Nov 22, 2011 5:52 PM CST

Surveillance System May Have Recorded Courthouse Conversations in Violation of Federal Law

A security system installed in June in one or more courthouses in Baldwin County, Ala., included a number of cameras that also recorded audio placed in high-risk areas such as exits and hallways. However, until yesterday no one apparently told lawyers who routinely look for a quiet spot in public…

Nov 4, 2011 12:46 PM CDT

Tipsy French Suspects in Texas Courthouse Break-In Tried Out Gavel, Robe and Sombreros, CNN Says

Police arrested five foreign nationals early this morning in a burglary of the old Bexar County Courthouse in San Antonio. Although federal authorities were brought in to investigate, it appeared as the day progressed that tipsy French or French Moroccan tourists had entered the building as a poorly thought-out prank,…

Oct 19, 2011 4:57 PM CDT

Judge Says Courthouse Shooter’s Assault Rifle Jammed as He Pulled the Trigger, Saving 3 Women

But for a jammed assault rifle, a man who fired 70 rounds at an Arkansas courthouse last week almost certainly would have done much greater damage, the judge who apparently was targeted in the attack tells a local newspaper. The assault rifle, which had a laser sight, jammed not once,…

Sep 21, 2011 5:55 PM CDT

Pro Se Defense Attorney to Be Shocked If He Leaves Authorized Courtroom Area During RICO Trial

Four U.S. marshals will be in the courtroom as attorney Paul Bergrin goes on trial in federal court in Newark, N.J., next month. He faces a racketeering case in which he is accused of operating his law firm as a criminal enterprise and conspiring with another New Jersey lawyer to…

Sep 19, 2011 6:01 PM CDT

Gunman Who Fired Assault Rifle in Ark. Courthouse May Have Targeted Judge in His Divorce Case

A man who fired at least 70 rounds from an assault rifle and three semi-automatic handguns yesterday at an Arkansas courthouse may have targeted the Crawford County judge who presided over his divorce and child custody case, reports the Times Record. After James Ray Palmer, 48, asked to speak to…

Sep 14, 2011 7:47 PM CDT

Armed with Assault Rifle, Man Shot Ark. Judge’s Secretary at Courthouse, Died After Gun Battle

Updated: A man reportedly wearing camouflage and armed with two handguns and an assault rifle fired multiple rounds in and around the Crawford County, Ark., courthouse this afternoon, shooting a judge’s secretary in the leg as she tried to flee. The 48-year-old suspect, identified as James Ray Palmer, died about…

Sep 14, 2011 12:53 AM CDT

News Report Says Uproar in Nearby Courtroom Forced Mistrial in Unrelated Indiana Murder Case

Angry relatives created an uproar in an Indiana courtroom today, after the judge said another murder trial would be scheduled for the defendant following a mistrial yesterday. Meanwhile, the 10-minute fracas in Allen County Superior Judge John Surbeck’s courtroom was so disruptive that forced another judge in a nearby courtroom…

Sep 1, 2011 11:30 PM CDT

Judge’s Wife Finds Live Mortar Round on Back Doorstep; Bomb Squad Detonates It at Airport

Updated: Judge Charlie Vess likes to collect military paraphernalia, so at first he wasn’t taken aback by the 20- to 25-pound torpedo-shaped item his wife found yesterday on the back doorstep of their home in Natchez, Miss. But, finding no note to suggest that a friend had dropped it off…

Aug 10, 2011 10:40 PM CDT

Alert Issued to Courthouse Staff Solves Case of Judge’s Robe Taken During Men’s Room Break

A municipal judge in Philadephia returned from a men’s room break this week to discover that his robe had gone missing. Judge Joseph C. Waters Jr., a former police captain, said he left the door to the robing room at the Criminal Justice Center at 13th and Filbert streets unlocked,…

Jul 8, 2011 12:00 PM CDT

Reportedly Stabbed in Neck by Client with Pencil During Court Hearing, Lawyer Stays on Case

A Washington state lawyer was stabbed in the neck with a pencil by his client during a hearing yesterday at the Snohomish County courthouse, reports the Daily Herald. However, attorney Edward Cox wasn’t seriously hurt. He declined to comment because the alleged assailant, who is a defendant in a criminal…

May 10, 2011 5:26 PM CDT

Blindsided in Courtroom Attack, DA Fights Back, Sends Convicted Murderer to Hospital

An Oklahoma sentencing hearing Monday for a defendant who had just been convicted in a high-profile felony murder case played out like a scene from a Hollywood western, according to eyewitness accounts. Blindsided by Emanuel Mitchell, who came up from behind and punched him in the face as he was…

May 4, 2011 5:51 PM CDT