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Court Security

641 ABA Journal Court Security articles.

Shaken by death of lawyer slain by mediation opponent, colleagues ponder safety concerns

Shaken by the death last month of a highly regarded partner of an Arizona law firm, slain along with his client by a litigation opponent in a relatively minor business matter, colleagues and friends of Mark Hummels, 43, as well as those who never knew him, are pondering what can…

Feb 13, 2013 2:53 PM CST

Women gunned down at Delaware courthouse were there for child-support hearing

Christine Belford reportedly was fearful of her ex-husband, who had served time in federal prison for kidnapping the couple’s three children in 2007, as well as for bank fraud. But it was his father, Thomas F. Matusiewicz, 68, who gunned down Belford, 39, and a female friend at the New…

Feb 12, 2013 12:11 PM CST

Man who punched his own lawyer is convicted, gets 34 years, plus 6 months, and faces new charges

A man who punched his own lawyer in the face last week when the attorney argued against the client’s desire to fire him has been acquitted on an an attempted murder count even though he subsequently appeared in front of the Ohio jury in restraints. But Dionte Lummus was convicted…

Feb 11, 2013 11:30 PM CST

3 dead, 2 wounded in Delaware courthouse shooting

Updated: Two women were shot and killed and two police officers were wounded at a Delaware courthouse Monday morning before the gunman was killed. Thomas Matusiewicz is the man identified as the shooter, according to the News Journal. One of the women killed was Christine Belford, his ex-daughter-in-law. Matusiewicz’s son…

Feb 11, 2013 3:39 PM CST

Investigators of prosecutor’s slaying are still seeking suspects, a motive

As a special U.S. flag was flown at half-staff this week in honor of a veteran prosecutor gunned down on the way to work at a Texas courthouse Thursday, investigators are still seeking to identify a suspect or suspects in the case. Witnesses say as many as two people shot…

Feb 5, 2013 9:53 PM CST

Why this client ended up in restraints at trial

When 20-year-old Dionte Lummus told an Ohio judge Monday that he wanted to fire the lawyer who is defending him in an attempted-murder trial, attorney Will Oswall said it wouldn’t be fair to his client to lose his counsel midtrial. At that point, Lummus threw a punch toward Oswall’s face…

Feb 5, 2013 4:43 PM CST

Prosecutor gunned down while walking from parking lot to work at courthouse

A veteran prosecutor was fatally shot multiple times while walking to work at a Texas courthouse on Thursday morning from a nearby parking lot. The motive for the attack on assistant Kaufman County district attorney Mark Hasse, 57, isn’t known. Hasse was transported to a nearby hospital after being shot…

Jan 31, 2013 9:39 PM CST

Dead suspect in shooting of mediation opponents was litigious, had anger issues, lawyer says

Updated: A man who authorities say committed suicide after shooting a corporate attorney and his client after a law firm mediation session Wednesday in Phoenix was reportedly litigious and had anger-management issues. Before shooting attorney Mark P. Hummels, 43, and client Steven Singer, 48, who both died, Arthur Douglas Harmon,…

Jan 31, 2013 8:06 PM CST

Video captures courtroom attack of woman seeking protection order

All was apparently well until a magistrate judge reportedly left an Ohio domestic violence courtroom during a Friday hearing last week to see if the respondent had any pending arrest warrants. Almost immediately after the judge left and another woman entered the courtroom, a security video for the Summit County…

Jan 29, 2013 11:30 PM CST

$7M in gold coins found in intestate man’s garage will be auctioned at courthouse

A reclusive Nevada man who died without a will last year has left some unusual issues for a court in Carson City to deal with. One of the biggest: What to do with the gold coins found in Walter Samasko Jr.’s garage, among cans of tuna fish? Although he had…

Jan 29, 2013 8:11 PM CST

Courthouse fray sends lawyers to hospital, jail

A lawyer was arrested after a Tuesday afternoon incident at a West Virginia courthouse in which he was accused of attacking another attorney. Stephen Sean Murphy was charged with malicious wounding and released on $10,000 bail after a fray at the Marion County courthouse around 2 p.m., according to WBOY…

Jan 23, 2013 8:13 PM CST

Three dead, one wounded in courthouse shooting

A retired Canadian journalist shot and killed the pediatric surgeon who had pursued a malicious mischief case against him and the doctor’s lawyer on Tuesday before dying himself in a courthouse in the Philippines, authorities said. There are conflicting accounts about whether the shooting suspect, John Pope, 63, was killed…

Jan 22, 2013 4:27 PM CST

Misdemeanor Trial Looms for Suspended Chicago Judge re Security Checkpoint Dispute

A misdemeanor trial is looming for a Chicago area judge who was removed from the bench last year after being criminally charged in a dispute with security officers in a government building and subsequently retained by voters in November. Cook County Circuit Judge Cynthia Brim plans to assert at her…

Jan 7, 2013 4:30 PM CST

2nd Man Who Escaped Federal Prison by Climbing Down 15 Stories on Bedsheet Rope Is Captured

A second man who escaped a fortress-like federal prison in downtown Chicago last month by climbing 15 stories down its facade on a makeshift rope made of bedsheets has been captured. Although the resulting federal manhunt had reportedly gone nationwide, Kenneth Conley, a convicted bank robber, was found Friday in…

Jan 7, 2013 3:30 PM CST

Feds Drop Escape Charge re Inmate’s Daring 15-Story Climb Down Chicago Prison Facade

In a strategic move apparently intended to avoid wasting resources on an unnecessary trial and, perhaps, encourage cooperation by a defendant already facing substantial time behind bars, the feds have dropped an escape case against one of two men who made a daring escape from a downtown Chicago prison last…

Jan 3, 2013 7:34 PM CST

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