Guns in the courthouse?

A comment to a recent article got me thinking about guns in the courthouse. The author of that comment wrote that he thought only active law enforcement personnel who were not involved in a case could enter the courthouse armed. And then a second reader commented.

Read their comments in the article (below), titled "Security - at what price?"

Back on April 20th I wrote about being shocked by firearms in a courtroom, when the Woodstock Board of Fire and Police Commissioners and the Woodstock police chief, Bob Lowen, were defendants in a civil action in Judge Feetterer’s courtroom.

Both Chief Lowen and Deputy Chief Steve Bozer were sitting in the courtroom with their firearms. I felt that, in a civil action in which the chief was a defendant, the chief and his deputy chief should not have been armed.

Sure, they could have stepped in if some criminal action arose, and they could have provided additional cop power for the courtroom security officer (I still want to call them “bailiffs”). Heaven knows that he’d need it.

Could there have been a subliminal influence on the judge, when he looked over and saw two armed men in his courtroom?

When I was in Colorado, we didn’t have electronic screening at the courthouse doors and deputies who were to testify in trials checked their weapons in a gun locker before entering the courtroom. The only person armed in the courtroom was the bailiff, as far as anyone could see.

Yes, times are different today.

For the most part, the public trusts the police. I say, “for the most part.” Well, having just written this, I am wondering if “most” belongs in that sentence.

Thinking about the recent publicity that courthouse security hires primarily retired police officers, I wonder about their firearms qualifications and their mental and physical sharpness. When you hire security, you expect Security.

How easy would it be to overpower and disarm a security officer in our courthouse? Unfortunately, it would be too easy.

Security - at what price?

Yesterday I received one of those letters that I like so much ... the juicy ones.

This one asked whether I might take on wasteful spending and patronage at the McHenry County Sheriff's Department.

What's that, you say? There's "wasteful spending"? "Patronage"? You're kidding...

In a separate letter recently I was asked about the three vehicles at the sheriff's disposal. Now, why would one man need three vehicles at his disposal? A Tahoe, a squad car and, what was the third one?

(I do recall telling someone in Colorado that my perfect house would be a one-bedroom home with a six-car garage, but that assumed I might win the Lottery and be able to afford it out of my own income and assets, not off the taxpayers' nearly-unlimited spending account.) But I digress.

What does courthouse security cost the taxpayers? We all see the screening equipment at the entrances. And the huge number of security officers (guards) standing around. Is there a supervisor or chief who never makes the rounds to count noses and see how many are doing nothing?

Oh, but what if there is an emergency? Well, if there is, we are all dead. I mean, what if some mother hides a bomb in a stinky diaper? Is one of the guards going to dive into that diaper and find whatever is setting off the alarm? Oh, just looks like the diaper pins...

But what does security really cost the taxpayers? Wouldn't it be interesting to see a spreadsheet on that? Recently, there was something in the news about the security service for the Administration Building at 667 Ware Road. A private security service has the contract there, and those guards probably earn about $12.00/hour. If some miscreant went in there with evil on his mind, he'd have the drop on them in a heartbeat.

But what about the guards at the courthouse itself? What do they earn? And what do the supervisors earn? And the chief of security? What's the supervisory ratio there?

This particular letter writer mentioned a $100,000 salary for the chief of courthouse security. You've got to be kidding. And didn't Nygren take him to a meeting of the national police chiefs' association (or something like that) in Florida last year? Seems like I saw something in a blog about that.

Why do the lawyers who come and go every day have to stand in line like the rest of us sheep? Surely, there could be a procedure created to allow them to bypass the lines of us "common people."

Who makes the rules for the lawyers? Couldn't the chief of security set up a system that would create a photo ID for those who are in the building every morning and/or afternoon for appearances, hearings, trials, etc. They could have to apply for it and wait for it to be issued and then have it with them, and maybe they could be asked to enter the east door to avoid the stares and the catcalls when they stroll past the herd waiting to enter and queue up for the privilege of paying fines and exorbitant court costs. Of course, for most of them the parking in the east lot is limited.

Don't members of the bar get passes in Kane County to bypass court security? Why not here?

Crossing the Border at MCSD

What happens when you want to cross the border at 2200 N. Seminary and enter the McHenry County Government Center? Whose building is it, anyway?

At the main public (west) entrance and at the less-frequently used east entrance to the Government Center are "border" checkpoints. So far, you don't have to show your identification card or state your name, but you are required to pass through electronic scanners and to empty your pockets into plastic trays.

What goes in the trays? Pens, pencils, keys, wallets, purses, coins and all metallic objects that will cause the walk-through scanner alarm to sound an alert. Quite often, a belt buckle will trigger the alarm, requiring the wearer to back up through the scanner, remove the belt and buckle, and pass again through the scanner.

Posted on the front doors is a list of prohibited items: guns, knifes, box cutters, pepper spray, cameras, tape recorders and other items that would pose a threat if used as a weapon inside the courthouse. What happens if you have any of these items with you when you attempt to enter the courthouse?

Aside from guns, you will be asked to take the prohibited item(s) back to your vehicle. If you don't wish to (for example, you are late for court), then the court security officer (CSO) will tell you that you can turn in the item AND that it will not be returned to you.

In the first week in August I followed a woman through the security line and she had a prohibited item. She told the CSO to keep it. He explained that it would not be returned to her and had her deposit it in a box that contained other items which he said had been forfeited that day.

Now, suppose you enter the courthouse and place all pocket items in the plastic tray to be examined by the CSO. He will feel and flex a man's wallet to be sure it contains no stiff item that might be used as a weapon, check the cell phone (to be sure it's not a bomb), click a ballpoint pen (to be sure it's really a pen and not a bomb). Let's also suppose that in addition to those items are some paper items.

Should it matter what those paper items are? Can the CSO prevent a person from carrying any paper items (file folders, notes, business cards) into the courthouse? Should the CSO prevent a person from taking such items into the building?

What if a CSO spots some item that he might recognize as a small political campaign card among the papers? Should he tell the bearer that such printed material is not allowed into the courthouse "because this is Sheriff Nygren's building"?

Does such material become "paraphernalia" just because a CSO declares it to be so? Can a CSO confiscate it without making any written record? Can a CSO who confiscates paper (not remotely close to any prohibited item) refuse to identify himself or refuse to reveal his employee badge number?

This is Woodstock. This is McHenry County. This is not Russia. This is not Mexico. This is not China or Bolivia.

Is a CSO confiscating such paper campaign cards actually committing a crime (theft) by taking such paper from a person entering the courthouse?

If there is a General Order by the Sheriff or the Chief of Court Security to confiscate such material? If I walk in with some political literature of Sheriff Keith Nygren, will it be confiscated?
You had better belief that, as soon as I return to Woodstock, I shall make my first stop the McHenry County Government Center, and I'll just happen to have some "paper" for my campaign with me. If I am prevented from entering a public building or said paper is taken from me, it will take the Woodstock Police about five minutes to get there and there will be a big stink.

The Government Center is not the Sheriff's building. This building belongs to the People. The sheriff is only in charge of security of the building.

Must-See Video

If you have any interest in historic preservation and in saving Grace Hall, you've got to see Courthouse Girls of Farmland. This video will be scheduled for a showing in Woodstock, probably in December but no later than in January.

What's it about? Go to http://www.courthousegirls.com/

In 2005 the commissioners of Randolph County, Indiana, voted to demolish the courthouse and build a modern courthouse. Seven women, ages 77 to 94, spearheaded a plan to save the courthouse. And they did!

Proceeds from the sale of the Courthouse Girls of Farmland calendars raised more than $45,000!

Feel like a little drive? Head for Winchester, Indiana, county seat of Randolph County. It's in east central Indiana, about 7 miles from the Ohio state line and about 20 miles north of I-70. And while you are there, don't miss Farmland (just a little west of Winchester).

Can't wait for the showing of the video in Woodstock? Buy your own copy on their website for $22.45, including shipping. Just click on Store on their website.