• Standard for courthouse security : Help for military children • The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville May 2, 2005 Standard for courthouse security : Help for military children Athens (Ga.) Banner-Herald May 4, 2005 …It may, in fact, be time for
• Standard for courthouse security : Help for military children
• The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville May 2, 2005
Standard for courthouse security : Help for military children
Athens (Ga.) Banner-Herald May 4, 2005
…It may, in fact, be time for the state to decide which official or officials are responsible for security in the county courthouses across Georgia. It also may be time for the state to set standards for what constitutes an adequately and properly secured courthouse.…
Sheriff’s departments have, almost by default, taken on the duties and responsibilities of securing courthouses by opting to post deputies in courtrooms and, in many cases, also using deputies to operate metal detectors at courthouse entrances. But fallout from (Brian) Nichols’ rampage found many judges working to dictate how their courtrooms were to be secured.
Interestingly, while the state constitution and a number of related state laws make it clear sheriffs are responsible for maintaining a jail, for getting prisoners to court and for maintaining a presence in county superior and probate courts, it is not abundantly clear whether sheriffs are responsible for overall security of county courthouses.…
By designating which official or officials would be responsible for courthouse security, the state government could do much to reduce confusion and possible “turf wars” over an issue that ought to be removed, as much as possible, from the political arena.…
The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville May 2, 2005
It was good policy, as well as an excellent statement of principle, when the Florida House expanded education benefits for the children of American military personnel.
Jacksonville Republican Stan Jordan says a 1941 law provides scholarships for the dependent offspring of killed or permanently disabled veterans. The only stipulations are that the veteran used Florida as his home of record for at least five years, and also he must have entered the service in this state.
The bill, sponsored by Jordan and cosponsored by Jacksonville Democrat Audrey Gibson, would drop that and require only that he had claimed Florida as his home for the year prior to sustaining the injuries. …
Besides, Jordan’s bill makes a statement about how much this state values the brave men and women who are fighting and dying in the war against terror. The Senate needs to act quickly, before time runs out.
- Provided by the Associated Press
