Court Security

Texas will punish those responsible for prosecutor slayings, governor vows; $200K reward offered

The governor of Texas vowed at a press conference today that the state would hunt down and punish those responsible for slaying two prosecutors within a two-month period and announced that the state is adding $100,000 in reward money to the $100,000 already put up by Kaufman County. “We’re going…

Apr 4, 2013 10:24 PM CDT

Courthouse locked after county sheriff is shot to death outside; ‘nobody’s safe,’ magistrate says

A West Virginia courthouse was on lockdown Wednesday afternoon after the county sheriff was shot to death outside. Mingo County Sheriff Eugene Crum liked to eat lunch in the same spot within a block of the courthouse in Williamson while sitting in his patrol vehicle, according to the Associated Press,…

Apr 3, 2013 8:49 PM CDT

53 dead in suicide attack on Afghan court intended to free 15 Taliban prisoners headed to trial

At least 53 people died Wednesday in an attack by suicide bombers on a court in Western Afghanistan. They reportedly sought to free 15 suspected members of the Taliban who were headed to trial in the Farah courthouse, according to Al Jazeera and the BBC News. It isn’t clear whether…

Apr 3, 2013 6:15 PM CDT

Put on probation in earlier case, man is now charged with making telephone threats to judge

Sentenced in 2011 to 18 months of probation for making telephone threats to a corporation, a suburban Chicago man is facing new charges for allegedly making new telephone threats—this time to the judge who presided over the case. Alexander Wood, 25, left a message March 7 on the work telephone…

Apr 3, 2013 4:20 PM CDT

Capital murder trial begins for man accused of slaying bystander in shooting outside courthouse

Jury selection began Tuesday in the Galveston, Texas, capital murder trial for a man accused of slaying a bystander when he also shot family members outside the Jefferson County courthouse in Beaumont last year. Investigators say Bartholomew Granger shot Minnie Ray Sebolt, 79, outside the courthouse door as he was…

Apr 2, 2013 10:44 PM CDT

Another Texas DA steps in to help 10-prosecutor office cope after Kaufman County DA is slain

In the wake of a weekend slaying of a Texas district attorney and his wife that has put law enforcement officials there and elsewhere on high alert, a district attorney from another jurisdiction has gone to Kaufman County to help the 10-prosecutor office cope with the situation. Randy Reynolds, who…

Apr 1, 2013 7:33 PM CDT

Gun violence issue surfaces at House of Delegates

Gun violence was not a prominent theme of the 2013 ABA Midyear Meeting, but the issue flared to the surface as the House of Delegates convened on the last day of the meeting. As delegates gathered, news was spreading about a shooting at a Wilmington, Del., courthouse that left three…

Apr 1, 2013 5:50 AM CDT

Traffic court sting results in arrest of 2 unlicensed drivers, impound of vehicles

A police sting on Wednesday at a California traffic court session resulted in the arrest of two drivers and the impound of their vehicles. San Pablo police officers attended the Richmond Superior Court call and then followed those whose licenses had been suspended out of the hearing to see how…

Mar 29, 2013 6:57 PM CDT

Probe of Colo. prisons chief murder focuses on other slayings, possible gang involvement

A continuing investigation into the killing of the Colorado prisons superintendent is focusing on at least two questions: Whether the deceased suspect in the case, Evan Spencer Ebel, could be responsible for any other murders. And whether 211 Crew, the white supremacist gang of which Ebel was said to be…

Mar 29, 2013 6:22 PM CDT

Man angry over stripper’s $750 debt made death threats to judge and prosecutor, feds say

A scheme that federal prosecutors say Amin Abbas Eltayeb launched to try to collect on the $750 loan he had made to an exotic dancer allegedly resulted in threats against a Florida judge, prosecutor and sheriff’s deputy. Warned by the woman’s boyfriend to leave her alone after she had repaid…

Mar 26, 2013 4:26 PM CDT

Legal Aid lawyer handcuffed, but not charged, after courtroom incident

Authorities are investigating a March 14 incident in which a 50-year-old New York lawyer who represents low-income clients for the Legal Aid Society says a court officer shouted at her and shoved her from behind into a wall at the Bronx criminal courthouse. Elana Silberman says she was singled out…

Mar 25, 2013 5:15 PM CDT

Courthouse’s new security measures add estimated 30 minutes to entrance time

Following criticism by the county sheriff, a Wisconsin courthouse has amped up its security measures. And, as a result, it’s taking longer for those with business to do at the Milwaukee County courthouse to get where they’re going, reports the Journal Sentinel. Even before the security measures, which include removing…

Mar 11, 2013 2:00 PM CDT

Sheriff sends undercover officer to courthouse with gun; she makes it through 6 checkpoints

Saying that he was unable to arrange a meeting with a Wisconsin county executive to discuss court security in the wake of safety concerns raised by a high-profile courthouse shooting in Delaware last month, the Milwaukee County sheriff tried a different approach. Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. sent a female…

Mar 7, 2013 5:38 PM CST

Son of Del. courthouse shooter faces new probation violation charges related to ammo

New probation violation charges have been filed against the son of a man who committed suicide immediately after shooting to death two women at a Wilmington, Del., courthouse last month. David Matusiewicz, 45, is accused in a violation petition filed Tuesday of living in a home in Texas in which…

Mar 7, 2013 5:09 PM CST

Lawyers in courthouse fistfight file dueling lawsuits

Two lawyers involved in a January fight in a West Virginia courthouse have filed dueling lawsuits. Stephen Sean Murphy sued first, naming Scott Radman as a defendant in his Monongalia Circuit Court complaint. However, Radman fired back with a counterclaim alleging that he was the victim in the Marion County…

Mar 6, 2013 10:14 PM CST