Court Security

Man Gets 8 Years for Liening Property of 3 Federal Judges

The already-imprisoned founder of a the Montana Freeman militia group has been sentenced to an additional eight years for liening the property of three federal judges after winning a default judgment from a “court” of his own creation. Daniel Petersen, now 67, is the first individual ever convicted under a…

Apr 7, 2010 7:08 PM CDT

Courthouse Cooler Warned of Explosion But Actually Contained Phone Books

A note on a soft-sided cooler outside the federal courthouse in downtown Kansas City, Mo., today said its contents would explode. But after the building was evacuated and a number of employees were sent home for the day, investigators determined that the cooler contained phone books, Fox News and the…

Apr 5, 2010 5:33 PM CDT

Former Law Student Is Banned From Court After Knife Arrest

A former law student who is being held in lieu of $1 million bail after authorities reportedly found 1,600 handguns, knives and other weapons in his Chicago home last week has been banned from all Cook County courthouses unless he is required to be there by law. Kevin Long, 48,…

Mar 24, 2010 4:56 PM CDT

Judge & Clerk Sue Sheriff Over Courtroom Shiv Attack By Murder Defendant

Emotionally disabled after a murder defendant leaving the witness stand attacked her with a homemade knife, a now-retired California judge is suing the San Joaquin County sheriff’s department over the exactly 1-year-old incident. Although a Lodi police detective in the Stockton courtroom shot and killed the defendant before then-San Joaquin…

Mar 4, 2010 11:20 PM CST

Inmate Allegedly Assumed Fake ID at Arraignment to Escape Court Hearing

For at least the second time in a little over four months, an inmate has escaped from a New York criminal court by assuming someone else’s identity. Despite new security measures reportedly adopted when another inmate exited Manhattan criminal court last year after being mistaken for a lawyer, Michael Bautista,…

Feb 10, 2010 6:06 PM CST

Hurled Shoe Knocks Israeli Chief Justice Off Her Chair

The chief justice of Israel’s Supreme Court took a direct hit between the eyes from a hurled tennis shoe during a court session on medical marijuana on Wednesday. The impact knocked Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch off her chair and broke her glasses, according to the Associated Press and the…

Jan 27, 2010 3:35 PM CST

Would-Be Court Escapee Bounces Off Bulletproof Glass, Has Bond Upped to $1.5M

A defendant awaiting a court appearance in bond violation matter concerning an aggravated battery case wound up in a lot more trouble yesterday after he allegedly tried to sprint away from security checkpoint at a courthouse in suburban Chicago. A videotape shows a man identified as Travis Copeland, 19, running…

Jan 15, 2010 9:25 PM CST

Las Vegas Courthouse Shooter Had Served Time for Killing His Brother

The 66-year-old man who walked into a Las Vegas courthouse and opened fire had served six years in prison for killing his brother in 1974. Johnny Lee Wicks was killed Monday in a shootout that began after he entered the federal courthouse lobby around 8 a.m., drew a shotgun he…

Jan 6, 2010 1:14 PM CST

‘Lawyer’ Who Fled Court Is Recaptured; Now Real Attorneys Must Show ID

An inmate dressed in a three-piece suit who escaped from Manhattan Criminal Court this week when he was mistaken for a lawyer was recaptured last night after police spotted him getting off a bus in New York, reports FOX News. And Ronald Tackman likely will find it a bit harder…

Oct 2, 2009 9:09 PM CDT

Prisoner Escapes from Courthouse, Last Seen Wearing 3-Piece Suit

A New York City man facing robbery charges escaped from the 12th floor of a Manhattan courthouse during a pretrial hearing today by simply walking out, surveillance footage shows. Ronald Tackman, who turns either 55 or 56 tomorrow, was wearing a light-colored three-piece suit and apparently took advantage of being…

Sep 30, 2009 5:35 PM CDT

Report of Shouting Jurors, Thrown Chair Spurs Fosamax Judge to Order Time Out

The Manhattan judge overseeing the first Fosamax federal product liability trial has ordered a cooling-off period after one lawyer reported hearing shouting from the jury room and a juror reportedly claimed someone threw a chair at her. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge John Keenan ordered jurors to take a day…

Sep 10, 2009 2:23 PM CDT

No Charges Over Cigarette Lighter ‘Pistol’ That Led to Fla. Courthouse Evacuation

A cigarette lighter designed to look like a pistol created a major incident at a Florida courthouse earlier this month after a woman forgot it was in her bag and a distracted security screener writing down a phone number for an auto parts store saw it only as it was…

Aug 12, 2009 8:55 PM CDT

‘Pistol’ in Fla. Courthouse Results in Evacuation—More than 3 Hours Later

Fortunately, it wasn’t a real gun. But a series of security lapses ensued after a Florida woman forgot about the pistol-shaped cigarette lighter she had confiscated from her nephew, out of concern about how realistic it appeared, and left in a bag she put through the security check at the…

Aug 6, 2009 8:30 PM CDT

Seattle Courthouse Gang Brawl Complexifies Murder Trial

As a trial began yesterday over an alleged gang slaying, Seattle police knew that a suspect being sought on a warrant was likely to be in the courtroom. So they arrested the unidentified man in a third-floor hallway of the King County Courthouse. Fists were soon flying, however, after rival…

May 20, 2009 12:16 AM CDT

Calif. Judge Stabbed By Defendant Is Physically Fine, Struggling Emotionally

Less than a week after being stabbed by the defendant in a murder case, a California judge is back on the job. But San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Cinda Fox hasn’t yet returned to the bench. Her courtroom, in which a Lodi police detective shot and killed the defendant…

Mar 9, 2009 11:22 PM CDT