Court Security

Appellate lawyer decked in court by handcuffed death-row client sues county for damages

A Pennsylvania lawyer who was decked in court by a handcuffed death-row inmate while working as a contract appellate lawyer earlier this year has sued Blair County for damages. Plaintiff Timothy S. Burns, 40, lost consciousness briefly when he was knocked to the floor by his client at the counsel…

Nov 19, 2013 9:50 PM CST

Accused of threat to witness, convicted drug dealer exits federal courthouse when judge revokes bond

Accused of threatening a witness Sunday, a convicted drug dealer freed on bond pending sentencing showed up at the federal courthouse in Chicago on Tuesday to respond to a prosecution motion asking that he be taken into custody. But after U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber did, in fact, revoke bond…

Nov 15, 2013 7:35 PM CST

Lawyer charged with using attorney credential in attempt to deliver drug to courthouse lockup

A Massachusetts lawyer has been criminally charged, accused of using his attorney credential to gain access to the Chelsea District Courthouse lockup without a search in order to attempt to deliver a prescription drug to a woman being held in the building’s lockup. Michael R. Lustig, 45, is listed on…

Nov 14, 2013 7:00 PM CST

Propane-tank IED blows up at DA’s office, closing offices and courts for much of day

Updated: An improvised explosive device utilizing a propane tank broke windows and caused a fire when it blew up outside an entrance to the district attorney’s office for Jackson County, Ore., early Wednesday. However, the damage that resulted could have been much worse if the device had fully detonated, the…

Nov 13, 2013 6:20 PM CST

Rattlesnakes add extra oomph to courthouse keep-off-the-grass signs

Keep-off-the-grass signs at a Texas courthouse really meant business this week: Rattlesnakes had been spotted basking in the sun on the lawn near tall ornamental grass. Photos taken by attorneys and others show some of the snakes in the grass at the Galveston County Courthouse were at least a foot…

Nov 8, 2013 6:00 PM CST

Prison gang helped escapees get fake court orders granting early release, official says

It wasn’t just phony court orders reducing their Florida prison sentences that helped Joseph Jenkins and Charles Walker escape recently. A contraband cellphone also was found in the Orange County prison cell in which one of the two men had been housed, reports the Orlando Sentinel. But officials don’t believe…

Nov 6, 2013 5:30 PM CST

Man beats rap on courthouse-restroom vandalism case after 55 days in jail

A man who had been jailed for nearly two months awaiting trial in a felony case over damage to two Washington state courthouse restrooms beat the rap on Oct. 21, when a judge dismissed the case at the prosecution’s request because the government hadn’t shown damage exceeding $750. Within hours,…

Nov 5, 2013 5:20 PM CST

Assistant DA finds out what can go wrong when admiring a colleague’s gun

A prosecutor in Texas got a lesson in weapons safety on Monday while admiring what he believed to be an unloaded gun. First Assistant District Attorney Michael Jarrett aimed the gun at an office window at the McLennan County courthouse complex and pulled the trigger, News Channel 25 and the…

Nov 5, 2013 2:07 PM CST

Courthouse escapee leads police on high-speed chase, is captured after crash

An unidentified 29-year-old Chicago man reportedly led Wisconsin authorities on a high-speed chase Monday after fleeing the Sheboygan County Courthouse on foot after a court appearance. News reports do not make clear whether the court appearance also occurred Monday, or was at an earlier date. The suspect, who was wanted…

Nov 4, 2013 11:25 PM CST

Ex-cop was furious at feds, sick and brokenhearted when he shot up courthouse, US Attorney says

A search of the home of a onetime Wheeling, W. Va., police officer after he fired 23 rounds from an assault rifle at a federal courthouse there earlier this month revealed more about his motivation for the attack. Writings there and other documents found on his person at a hospital…

Nov 4, 2013 5:40 PM CST

Letters: The World of Words

THE WORLD OF WORDS Regarding Bryan Garner’s “It Really Does Pay,” September: If I had many hours to spend learning new words, I would choose to learn them in a foreign language instead. Time spent learning even trivial words in a foreign language can expand the worldwide audience of people…

Nov 1, 2013 9:10 AM CDT

Are these courthouses haunted? See why these employees think so (gallery)

As Halloween looms, tales of buildings with a claim to ghostly visitations and other eerie events are at a premium. And high on the list of likely sites for scary supernatural stories are historic courthouses, a number of which are also current or former prisons and may have seen hangings…

Oct 30, 2013 1:35 PM CDT

Federal lawsuit adds to allegations of excessive force by family court marshals

A federal lawsuit alleging that Nevada family court marshals threw a man headfirst onto the concrete floor of the Las Vegas courthouse for no good reason is the latest development in an ongoing saga of allegations of excessive force and improper conduct at the court. A poor-quality video of the…

Oct 24, 2013 5:40 PM CDT

7 prisoners may have used phony court papers in escape attempts; $20K reward offered for information

As an investigation continues into how two convicted Florida murderers were able to obtain forged court documents that—briefly—won their early release from prison, authorities say at least seven individuals are suspected of attempting to escape from state prisons in this manner since 2009. Five of the seven spent time in…

Oct 22, 2013 7:05 PM CDT

Captured: 2 murderers released from jail on phony court orders; probe now focused on who helped them

Two convicted murderers who walked away from a Florida prison in recent weeks with the help of phony court paperwork reducing their “illegal” sentences were captured over the weekend. Joseph Jenkins and Charles Walker, both 34, were found together at a motel in Panama City, where they were waiting for…

Oct 21, 2013 4:35 PM CDT