Court Security

Missing woman found forgotten in holding area of closed courthouse

A missing persons report Wednesday was soon resolved by a search of a Michigan courthouse. Tara Mathis had been in the Barry County building hours earlier for a hearing in a child-support case and sentenced to 24 days when she told a probate judge she had no money to pay…

Oct 16, 2014 1:10 PM CDT

Court announces total photo ban after earlier rule is flouted by multiple media outlets

Five months ago, after a violation of the rule banning photography in hallways and other public areas of the Mecklenburg County Courthouse, the North Carolina court’s senior resident judge met with Charlotte media representatives. Superior Court Judge Richard Boner reiterated the blanket ban, which has applied for over 20 years,…

Oct 15, 2014 5:20 PM CDT

Man gets 90 days for taking cellphone photos in court

Roy Davis caught the attention of a Florida judge on Thursday when the 22-year-old Ohio man reportedly began taking courtroom photos on his cellphone. Ordered by Duval County Judge James Daniel to approach the bench, Davis initially refused but stopped resisting when a court officer aimed a stun gun at…

Sep 25, 2014 5:30 PM CDT

Murder defendant refuses judge’s order to wear Stun-Cuff at trial, misses opening statements

A Maryland judge decided to require a murder defendant to wear an ankle bracelet that can transmit an electric shock at trial after he threatened her, the judge said, by screaming her first name and trying to enter her chambers Tuesday before bailiffs restrained him. But later in the day,…

Sep 17, 2014 10:50 AM CDT

Gunman kills lawyer, wounds client in shooting at Denmark courthouse

A gunman killed a lawyer and critically wounded his client Tuesday in a courthouse shooting in Denmark. It may have been the first shooting in the history of the Copenhagen City Court, which was founded in 1771, the Associated Press reports. The names of the 57-year-old attorney who was killed…

Sep 16, 2014 4:10 PM CDT

Judge who ordered deputy to shock ‘rude’ pro se defendant has been taken off bench

Updated: It appears that a call by the public defender for the state of Maryland to ban a senior circuit court judge from hearing cases may have been heeded by the state’s top court. On Friday, the Maryland Court of Appeals said there was “good cause” to remove retired Judge…

Sep 10, 2014 11:45 AM CDT

Courthouse shooter is tackled by county official, dies at scene

An Iowa man who had been embroiled for years in a property tax dispute with Jackson County officials died Tuesday of a gunshot wound at the conclusion of a government meeting. Officials said shooting suspect Francis “Gus” Glaser, 71, pulled a gun from a briefcase. He fired once at the…

Sep 9, 2014 2:40 PM CDT

Federal judge on courthouse shooter’s ‘hit list’ asked to step aside in cases against family members

A federal judge who was No. 5 on an alleged 16-name “hit list” found among the belongings of a Delaware courthouse shooter (one of the two women killed was No. 1) has been asked to step aside from hearing criminal cases against the shooter’s family members. Prosecutors joined with defense…

Sep 5, 2014 4:25 PM CDT

Prosecutor slayings suspect wanted to target former judges, too, those in charge of murder case say

A disbarred justice of the peace accused of shooting to death two Texas prosecutors in 2013 also wanted to assassinate two former judges, prosecutors say. Eric Williams planned to kill District Judge Glen Ashworth as far back as 2005, according to special prosecutors in charge of Williams’ capital murder case.…

Sep 3, 2014 5:30 PM CDT

In court after missing anger management courses, man attacks his public defender, authorities say

In court Tuesday because he failed to attend court-ordered anger-management classes after an assault conviction, a South Dakota man wound up facing new charges after he attacked an assistant public defender in a conference room, according to the local sheriff’s office. Kelly John Lange, 34, “tipped over the conference room…

Sep 3, 2014 4:25 PM CDT

Kidnapper charged in claimed plot to abduct judge, prison officials and others

A convicted kidnapper who reportedly laughed at a Pennsylvania judge and blew a kiss to the prosecutor after being sentenced to a prison term of more than 20 years in 2008 is now facing new charges in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Authorities say Anthony Marcus Davis, 29, sought to include two former…

Aug 26, 2014 9:05 PM CDT

Glock pistol forgotten by security officer in courthouse men’s room is missing

A pistol forgotten in the men’s room of a Derry, New Hampshire, circuit courthouse has gone missing. Officials say an unidentified security officer put his Glock handgun down there Monday and didn’t remember to pick it up, reports WMUR. Soon it was gone. State police searched the area with a…

Aug 26, 2014 6:00 PM CDT

Losing litigant who threw chair at defendant cop after verdict gets 5 years

A Chicago man who has a history of issues with a suburban police officer had hoped for a jury award in his favor after filing a federal civil rights suit. But when the jury ruled in the defendant’s favor last yea,r Lavelle Watts Jr. lost it. He threw a courtroom…

Aug 21, 2014 10:20 PM CDT

Bomb squad detonates apparent explosive device near federal courthouse; no one is injured

After a passerby reported seeing a stick of dynamite in a sports-utility vehicle parked near a federal courthouse in San Francisco on Monday around 8 p.m., authorities responded and determined that the vehicle did contain an apparent explosive device. However, San Francisco police closed off streets near the San Francisco…

Aug 19, 2014 8:05 PM CDT

Pro se defendant gets retrial because judge didn’t talk to him before excluding him for misbehavior

A defendant in an Iowa drug case who insisted on representing himself at trial and then apparently became frustrated and misbehaved when he couldn’t figure out how to examine a police witness without violating hearsay rules was properly removed from court on the first day of trial. But Judge Nathan…

Aug 13, 2014 3:05 PM CDT