Court Security

Gunman Who Fired Assault Rifle in Ark. Courthouse May Have Targeted Judge in His Divorce Case

A man who fired at least 70 rounds from an assault rifle and three semi-automatic handguns yesterday at an Arkansas courthouse may have targeted the Crawford County judge who presided over his divorce and child custody case, reports the Times Record. After James Ray Palmer, 48, asked to speak to…

Sep 14, 2011 7:47 PM CDT

Armed with Assault Rifle, Man Shot Ark. Judge’s Secretary at Courthouse, Died After Gun Battle

Updated: A man reportedly wearing camouflage and armed with two handguns and an assault rifle fired multiple rounds in and around the Crawford County, Ark., courthouse this afternoon, shooting a judge’s secretary in the leg as she tried to flee. The 48-year-old suspect, identified as James Ray Palmer, died about…

Sep 14, 2011 12:53 AM CDT

News Report Says Uproar in Nearby Courtroom Forced Mistrial in Unrelated Indiana Murder Case

Angry relatives created an uproar in an Indiana courtroom today, after the judge said another murder trial would be scheduled for the defendant following a mistrial yesterday. Meanwhile, the 10-minute fracas in Allen County Superior Judge John Surbeck’s courtroom was so disruptive that forced another judge in a nearby courtroom…

Sep 1, 2011 11:30 PM CDT

Judge’s Wife Finds Live Mortar Round on Back Doorstep; Bomb Squad Detonates It at Airport

Updated: Judge Charlie Vess likes to collect military paraphernalia, so at first he wasn’t taken aback by the 20- to 25-pound torpedo-shaped item his wife found yesterday on the back doorstep of their home in Natchez, Miss. But, finding no note to suggest that a friend had dropped it off…

Aug 10, 2011 10:40 PM CDT

Alert Issued to Courthouse Staff Solves Case of Judge’s Robe Taken During Men’s Room Break

A municipal judge in Philadephia returned from a men’s room break this week to discover that his robe had gone missing. Judge Joseph C. Waters Jr., a former police captain, said he left the door to the robing room at the Criminal Justice Center at 13th and Filbert streets unlocked,…

Jul 8, 2011 12:00 PM CDT

Reportedly Stabbed in Neck by Client with Pencil During Court Hearing, Lawyer Stays on Case

A Washington state lawyer was stabbed in the neck with a pencil by his client during a hearing yesterday at the Snohomish County courthouse, reports the Daily Herald. However, attorney Edward Cox wasn’t seriously hurt. He declined to comment because the alleged assailant, who is a defendant in a criminal…

May 10, 2011 5:26 PM CDT

Blindsided in Courtroom Attack, DA Fights Back, Sends Convicted Murderer to Hospital

An Oklahoma sentencing hearing Monday for a defendant who had just been convicted in a high-profile felony murder case played out like a scene from a Hollywood western, according to eyewitness accounts. Blindsided by Emanuel Mitchell, who came up from behind and punched him in the face as he was…

May 4, 2011 5:51 PM CDT

Lawyer Steps In to Help Woman Attacked During Divorce Hearing in Judge’s Chambers

Catherine Scott-Gonzalez, 23, says she tried to get a restraining order against her husband, Paul, but couldn’t persuade a court to issue one. However, police say he attacked her in a Florida judge’s chambers Friday, leaving her with two black eyes, broken facial bones and split lips, and he is…

Apr 19, 2011 5:32 PM CDT

Man Accused of Threatening to Kill Judge Is Released on $10K Bail

A 29-year-old man accused of plotting to kill the Florida judge who barred him from visiting his 14-month-old daughter has been charged with corruption by threat against a public servant and released on $10,000 bail. A report by the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office says Gene Melden Clary showed his daughter’s…

Apr 5, 2011 6:51 PM CDT

As Lawmakers Wield Budget Ax, Courts Struggle to Do More with Less, Plan Layoffs

As lawmakers throughout the country struggle to make ends meet in difficult economic times, many are seeing the courts and legal services as an area in which cuts can and must be made. The result is a growing list of jurisdictions in which services will be reduced and staff laid…

Mar 29, 2011 11:51 PM CDT

Caught on Video: 4 Court Marshals Struggle to Control 1 Enraged Handcuffed Woman Sentenced to Jail

It took four marshals to restrain an angry woman sentenced to jail in a Nevada kidnapping and child endangerment case this week. Although apparently handcuffed by a marshal immediately after sentence was pronounced in the Clark County case, Latasha Williams pulls deputies back and forth in a video clip of…

Mar 25, 2011 5:03 PM CDT

Who Let the Tiny Monkey Into Court, in a Woman’s Bra? It Wasn’t Armed, Deputy Says

A tiny monkey wearing a flowered dress and diapers created a stir in a Virginia courthouse yesterday when a woman took it out of her bra. “I can’t understand why the deputy didn’t see her,” the unidentified woman tells the New Era-Progress, explaining that the marmoset was peeking out of…

Mar 11, 2011 4:30 PM CST

Reports: Judge Pulls Gun on Crutch-Swinging Defendant, Who Is Then Shot By Cop in Ala. Courtroom

Unhappy about a judge’s jail sentence or fine in a misdemeanor harassment case, a defendant recovering from a broken hip with a cast on his leg reportedly began swinging his crutches in a courtroom at the Goodwater, Ala., city hall today and was shot in the abdomen and side by…

Feb 3, 2011 11:50 PM CST

Judge Dismisses Case Against Inmate Accused of Threatening Prosecutors

A Pennsylvania state court judge has dismissed criminal charges against an inmate accused of harassing and threatening the prosecutors who put him behind bars on a parole violation concerning an earlier stalking conviction. Although Judge William Furber Jr. believed that David Thomas Petko, 48, did in fact make the comments…

Jan 20, 2011 6:31 PM CST

Pa. Inmate in Wired Cell Accused of Offering Cash and Harley for Slaying of Judge, 2 Others

Prosecutors from two Pennsylvania counties today announced that a prison inmate has been charged with plotting to kill a state-court judge. Lance Patrick Greenawalt, 44, allegedly offered his Camp Hill cellmate cash and a Harley Davidson motorcycle to murder a judge who had overseen a previous case in which Greenawalt…

Jan 14, 2011 9:23 PM CST