Court Security

Tax protester gets 20-year max in attempted murder-for-hire plot against federal judge

Convicted last year of attempting to solicit the murder-for-hire of a federal judge in Fort Worth, a Texas man has been sentenced to a 20-year prison term, the maximum for the offense. Phillip Monroe Ballard, 72, was found guilty by a jury in December of offering $100,000 to an undercover…

Mar 19, 2014 3:50 PM CDT

Charged under federal cyberstalking law, relatives of courthouse shooter call case unconstitutional

Relatives of a Delaware courthouse shooter could get as much as life in prison if they are convicted in an unusual federal cyberstalking case that has been brought against them. But the case shouldn’t proceed because the cyberstalking law is unconstitutional, the three defendants are arguing, the News Journal reports.…

Mar 17, 2014 10:45 PM CDT

Top county prosecutor tackles fleeing defendant

As an “amped up” defendant was being sentenced in Thursday to 86 months for violating his probation in a drug-possession case, prosecutor Philip Miller stepped out of the courtroom to look for another bailiff. Then he saw the defendant, Dontae Marcus Frazier, running towards him down the hallway of the…

Mar 14, 2014 5:55 PM CDT

3 plead guilty in attempt to pay $1.2M bribe to federal judge in cartel money-laundering case

Three Mexican citizens have pleaded guilty in a failed attempt to pay a $1.2 million bribe to a federal judge hearing a drug cartel money-laundering case in Austin, Texas. Court documents say Judge Sam Sparks didn’t know about the attempted bribe before he sentenced Francisco Colorado Cessa in September, because…

Mar 12, 2014 6:19 PM CDT

Lawyer says client took cyanide pill in court to commit suicide after guilty verdict

Convicted of four felony counts concerning the sexual abuse of a 12-year-old girl, a 52-year-old man took a pill as the jury was being polled and collapsed within half an hour, his lawyer says. Attorney Salvatore Piemonte said his client, Jon K. Massey, collapsed as he was being led out…

Mar 11, 2014 4:55 PM CDT

3 charged with arson in fires at prosecutor’s office and law firm

Two men and one woman have been charged with arson over fires that occurred within hours of each other at a New Jersey prosecutor’s office and law firm. Felix Lopez, 28; Guillermo A. Veloz, 18; and Zilia Perez, 36, were arrested Friday and charged with aggravated arson and conspiracy, among…

Mar 7, 2014 10:10 PM CST

SCOTUS reporter notes tighter security after YouTube footage | Copyright and the ‘Oscar selfie’

Last week, footage of a U.S. Supreme Court hearing was posted on YouTube. This week, U.S. Supreme Court reporter Mark Walsh, writing for SCOTUSblog, noticed some “security tweaks” to Supreme Court security procedures. He writes that court observers have speculated that the videos were made with something as small as…

Mar 7, 2014 2:45 PM CST

Security guard armed with semi-automatic handgun arrested at Chicago court building

A man wearing a blue uniform and black body armor was taken into custody Tuesday morning at a Chicago building that houses multiple courtrooms after he claimed to be a Chicago police officer and asked a Cook County sheriff’s deputy to help him sign in a semi-automatic handgun he had…

Mar 6, 2014 4:30 PM CST

Man shot to death in courthouse standoff with law enforcement was armed with toy airsoft gun

A 51-year-old man shot to death after a three-hour standoff with law enforcement outside a Florida courthouse last week was armed with a $15.99 airsoft pistol that shoots plastic BB pellets, the Brevard County sheriff says. Officers from his SWAT team and a Palm Bay negotiator who was at the…

Mar 5, 2014 9:10 PM CST

Loaded gun makes it past courthouse screener

No one, fortunately, was hurt. But a loaded semiautomatic handgun got past a security screener last month at an Ohio courthouse, resulting in ongoing repercussions. Authorities said the Toledo Municipal Court screener, initially inattentive, later spotted on the X-ray machine the image of the gun in a woman’s purse and…

Mar 3, 2014 11:53 PM CST

Gunman slain after standoff outside Florida courthouse; sheriff says he made previous threats

A Florida courthouse was locked down Friday and police converged on the grounds after a man was spotted holding a gun and carrying a bag in the turnaround area of the parking lot outside. At least eight law enforcement officers took shelter behind vehicles with their firearms trained on the…

Feb 28, 2014 7:50 PM CST

Grainy footage of US Supreme Court hearing is featured in protest video posted on YouTube

Cameras aren’t allowed in the U.S. Supreme Court. So a protest video posted Wednesday on YouTube is apparently the first online footage to show the public the nation’s top court at work, albeit in a limited, shaky and grainy manner, from the back of the courtroom, according to Reuters. The…

Feb 28, 2014 12:05 AM CST

Judge OKs injury suit by lawyer decked in court by death-row client

A Pennsylvania criminal defense lawyer who says he is still trying to recuperate from being struck in the face by a handcuffed death-row client and knocked to the courtroom floor last May has gotten a green light to proceed with his personal injury suit against Blair County, its prison board…

Feb 27, 2014 5:30 PM CST

Courthouse tests face-recognition system to ID individuals thought to be threats

Angry litigants and criminal defendants can pose serious or even lethal threats to lawyers and judges. So it isn’t surprising that a group of retired police officers in St. Louis thought of the downtown Carnahan Courthouse when they developed a system to identify individuals considered to be threats through facial…

Feb 24, 2014 10:54 PM CST

Judge spots familiar face in court; man accused of threats to kill state and federal judges is held

Concerned about safety after he was told a convicted felon wanted for probation violation had threatened to kill him, a Minnesota judge pulled and studied the man’s mug shots and gave them to family members. So when Peter Okezie Kalu walked into the 13th-floor courtoom of Ramsey County District Judge…

Feb 12, 2014 6:50 PM CST