Court Security

Unrestrained at Counsel’s Request, Murder Defendant Punches His Lawyer in Competency Hearing Ruckus

A visibly agitated Virginia man facing a capital triple homicide case was unrestrained Wednesday at a competency hearing, as defense counsel requested. That resulted in a ruckus in the historic Madison County Courthouse as Rashad Riddick, 25, repeatedly punched his court-appointed lawyer, Joseph Flood, in the face before security tackled…

Aug 2, 2012 10:18 AM CDT

August 14, 1889: Justice Stephen Field Attacked

In 1859, Stephen J. Field replaced David Terry as California’s chief justice, when Terry resigned to engage Sen. David Broderick in a duel. Terry prevailed on “the field of honor” and joined the Confederate Army in 1863, the same year Field was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Their paths…

Aug 1, 2012 5:01 AM CDT

Lawyer Took Cyanide After Arson Verdict, Then Collapsed and Died, Medical Examiner Says

A 53-year-old lawyer whose finances apparently took a nosedive in recent years committed suicide in an Arizona court last month by swallowing a cyanide pill, immediately after a Maricopa County jury convicted him of burning down his own upscale home in the Phoenix area. Michael James Marin collapsed within minutes…

Jul 27, 2012 8:21 PM CDT

Convicted Car Burglar Gets 3-Year Max for Breaking Into Judge’s Car Near Courthouse

A convicted car burglar who last month broke into the vehicle of the California judge who had just given him a sentencing break got the maximum term this time around. However, even with a three-year sentence he got from visiting Santa Clara County Judge Leslie Nichols, the defendant, 32-year-old Phillip…

Jul 16, 2012 7:52 PM CDT

3 Men Banned From Stand-Your-Ground Murder Trial After Videotaped Brawl Outside Fla. Courtroom

A brawl outside a Florida judge’s courtroom on Monday resulted not only in criminal misdemeanor charges against three men accused of participating, but in trespass warnings that will prevent them from attending the scheduled October first-degree murder trial in an Osceola County stand-your-ground case. Charged with affray in the 9:40…

Jul 10, 2012 6:07 PM CDT

News Reports: Lawyer Outran Gunman, Escaped Law Office via Side Door as Suspect Searched for Him

David G. DeFazio has had problems at work before and even thought that individuals might be dangerous. But never in his 14 years of practice did the Virginia matrimonial attorney expect to see a gunman level a rifle at him in his law firm’s parking lot. That’s what reportedly happened…

Jun 22, 2012 7:04 PM CDT

Lawyer OK After Man Allegedly Shot at Him with Rifle in Law Firm Parking Lot Near Va. Courthouse

A suspect is being held without bond after allegedly shooting at a Virginia attorney with a rifle in a law firm parking lot across from the main courthouse in Chesterfield County. Authorities say Mark M. Lowe, 41, shot at the lawyer and missed. The attorney, who has not been publicly…

Jun 21, 2012 9:03 PM CDT

Disbarred Lawyer Gets 15 Days; Feds Say He Tried to Bring 9mm Bullets Into Courthouse

A disbarred Kansas lawyer has been sentenced to 15 days, with credit for time served, and released, after allegedly trying to bring three 9mm bullets into the Hale Boggs Federal Courthouse in New Orleans. After the ammo was found in a bag he was trying to bring into the courthouse…

May 2, 2012 3:47 PM CDT

Man Accused of Stabbing 3 Defense Lawyers with Smuggled Pencils Starts Murder Trial in Restraints

As Joshua Monson began his latest criminal trial in Washington state on Thursday, his latest defense lawyer was unscathed. That could be due to the unusual security measures approved by Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Larry McKeeman, at the request of prosecutors, after the defendant was accused of stabbing three…

Apr 27, 2012 4:10 PM CDT

Affidavit: Man Awaiting Sentencing Told Jail Staff of God’s Order to Kill Judge, Now Faces New Case

A man awaiting sentencing on Colorado burglary and theft charges has caught a new case after allegedly telling jail staff that he had an assault rifle and directions from God to kill the judge. Justin Townsel is now jailed in lieu of $150,000 bond on a new felony retaliation charge…

Apr 19, 2012 7:54 PM CDT

After Courthouse Attack, Judges and County Officials Battle for Right to Make Security Decisions

Before a judge was stabbed and a sheriff’s deputy was shot at a Washington state courthouse last month, superior court judges in Grays Harbor County had sued over what they said was inadequate security there. But after the March 9 attack the judges ordered that at least two armed sheriff’s…

Apr 13, 2012 4:17 PM CDT

Given 2 Years in Gun Case, Defendant Flees, Is Chased Down in Court Hall and Tackled by Prosecutor

Seth Uphoff’s experience as a former defensive back for the Eureka College football team came in handy on Thursday when a convicted defendant was sentenced to two years in a gun case Uphoff prosecuted in Peoria, Ill. Apparently hoping for probation, because he legally owned the assault rifle he shot…

Apr 13, 2012 4:00 PM CDT

Talked Into Giving Up Gun by South Fla. Judge, Man Gets 2 Years

A distraught litigant who held a gun to his own head in a South Florida courthouse last year before a judge talked him into giving up the weapon has been sentenced to two years in jail. Marin Stroia, 60, was found guilty in February of armed trespass and reckless display…

Mar 27, 2012 6:30 PM CDT

Judge Tackles Unruly Man Who Jumped Up on the Bench

A Honolulu judge tackled a man who caused a ruckus in his courtroom on Monday, according to bystanders and a police spokeswoman. Judge Lono Lee acted after the man entered Lee’s courtroom, jumped on the bench and broke a flagpole, according to Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Toni Schwartz. The…

Mar 22, 2012 12:31 PM CDT

Texas Lawyer Jailed After Courthouse Ruckus with Deputy; Accounts Differ re Who Was the Aggressor

A Texas attorney has been released from jail on $1,500 bond after being charged with a misdemeanor on accusations he instigated a ruckus with a Harris County sheriff’s deputy outside a courtroom. However, Gregory T. Josefsberg, 39, told the Houston Chronicle that it wasn’t he but the deputy who started…

Mar 21, 2012 6:47 PM CDT