Attorneys may get a pass through Tarrant courthouse security

Twenty-three years ago, George Lott walked into the historic Tarrant County Courthouse with a 9 mm semiautomatic Glock tucked into his briefcase.

Lott, a disgruntled attorney enraged over a bitter divorce and custody battle, later took out that gun and began firing. By the time it was over, Lott had killed prosecutor Chris Marshall and Dallas attorney John Edwards and wounded two judges and another lawyer.

His bloody rampage led to tighter security at courthouses statewide. Eventually, in Tarrant County, metal detectors were installed and X-ray machines were set up to screen bags and briefcases. People were asked to empty their pockets and take off their belts and shoes.

A proposal by District Attorney Sharen Wilson, however, may change all that at one of the courthouses, at least if you have a Texas State Bar card in your billfold.

Wilson, with the backing of judges in the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center, is recommending that attorneys who enter the building be allowed to pass quickly by the security checkpoints, avoiding the long lines that sometimes snake out the front door.

State District Judge George Gallagher, who worked on the new security procedure with Wilson, a former state district judge, thinks it’s a great idea. “I have no doubt that it is going to do just fine and make the system run a little smoother and faster,” he said.

But the move to loosen up security is being judged harshly by some who believe the procedures are in place for good reason. Another concern is that the changes could spread to the family, civil and juvenile courthouses.

“It is a slippery slope and I don’t see any reason to go down it,” said state District Judge Judith Wells at the Tarrant County Family Law Center. “I think it is foolhardy to open one courthouse, and there will be a lot of pressure to open” the others.

Other judges and the Tarrant County district clerk’s office have expressed concerns about the proposed change.

County Administrator G.K. Maenius said the commissioners have had “in-depth discussions” about the idea but have made no decisions.

“It is still a work in progress, and we’re looking at different scenarios,” Maenius said. “Security is a big issue. Always has been. Always will be.”

‘More manageable task’

Under the proposal, lawyers would apply for an attorney identification card, or AID, with the Tarrant County Bar Association. The application would be turned over to the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Department for a criminal background check. Attorneys would pay a $75 fee, and the background check would be done once a year when the card is renewed.

Lawyers would be required to wear the cards where it’s clearly visible. They would move slowly through the screening area and wait to be cleared by a deputy. Briefcases and boxes carried by attorneys would not go through the X-ray machine or scanner.

Guns would not be permitted, even if the badge holder has a handgun license. Knives are also banned. The county could revoke cards, temporarily or permanently, if the attorney is arrested.

Larry Moore, chief of the district attorney’s criminal division, said the idea has gained momentum in recent years. He said Harris County takes a similar, looser approach.

“Go down there [to the lobby] on docket day, and the line is out the door. It is to take some of the pressure off the sheriff’s office to make it a more manageable task,” Moore said.

Greg Westfall, a criminal defense attorney who makes multiple trips to the courthouse each day, said Tarrant County is one of the few jurisdictions that still handle security this way.

“You don’t hear about criminal defense lawyers shooting the place up,” Westfall said. “We are professionals and we have business to do, and the courts are waiting for us while we are in line.”

Sheriff Dee Anderson said the criminal judges would be allowed to review the list of applicants and remove anyone they have concerns about. Anderson said: “I’m OK with it.”

Gallagher understands why family court judges, who rejected a similar plan in 2007, are nervous. The Lott shooting was over a domestic issue. And in 1989, in the historic courthouse, a former sheriff’s deputy fatally shot his girlfriend, a court clerk and himself.

But Gallagher quotes an old saying that in criminal courts, you have bad people on their best behavior and in family courts, you have good people on their worst behavior. He said the threat level is just not as high. “The potential benefits to the justice system outweigh the risks involved,” he said.

Keep your shoes on

However, a 2013 study by the National Center for State Courts shows that courthouse violence is on the rise. From 1970 to 1979, there were 20 incidents of violence. But from 2005 to 2012, there were 406, with 257 from 2010 to 2012.

The report says the center has concluded that “universal screening is the optimum best practice. Everybody should be screened every time they enter a court building.”

Wells said she supports having everyone go through checkpoints. Now, prosecutors and other county employees don’t have to do so.

“I don’t know why we have to put ourselves in a position of hoping nothing happens,” she said. “No background check is foolproof. That has been proven repeatedly.”

District Clerk Tom Wilder said no one has shown him the proposal, although he has employees in all the courthouses. He also said there are no bailiffs on the floors where his employees work.

“In this day and time, I am looking for enhanced security and not diminished security,” Wilder said. “Why would we want to do less than a federal facility?”

State District Judge David Evans, administrative judge for the 8th Region, agrees that the existing policy needs to be reviewed, and he looks forward to working on it with other judges, the district attorney and the county.

“Until I’ve reviewed all of the studies and procedures being followed in other jurisdictions, I don’t want to comment on the proposal,” he said.

David Keltner, president of the Tarrant County Bar Association, said the group is still working on the proposal with the county to oversee distribution of the cards and applications for the sheriff. He said the association is “happy to help if that is what the commissioners want us to do.”

Keltner stressed that courthouse security has greatly improved since the fatal 1992 shooting. He said the armed bailiffs are better trained and are positioned in every courtroom and entryway.

He also pointed out that the process of letting attorneys keep their belts and shoes on but checking their briefcases and boxes works in federal courthouses and in Houston state courts.

“I want the judges and jurors to feel safe, as safe as they can be,” Keltner said. “We haven’t had much trouble, but when we have, it has been catastrophic. It has been devastating.”

This story was originally published July 16, 2015 at 10:43 AM with the headline "Attorneys may get a pass through Tarrant courthouse security."