Our appellate courts remain vulnerable

Nov 2nd, 2009 by Mark Cohen

The story in Minnesota Lawyer this week about the lawyer with the unlicensed gun stopped at the metal detectors at the Hennepin County Family Justice Center got me thinking again about the untenable security situation at the Minnesota Judicial Center which operates sans metal detectors.

Justice Paul Anderson for years has been among those calling for the funding that would allow the judges of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and Tax Court a modicum of protection from incidents like the Hennepin County one — all to no avail. I recall during the Coleman/ Franken recount case — closely watched around the country — I was just able to stroll into the Judicial Center, satchel in hand, and walk right into the courtroom without any sort of security check at all. (And I’m a pretty suspicious looking character, if I do say so myself!). Fortunately I had nothing in my bag but a laptop, a reporter’s notebook and a bag of trail mix for later …

I know state government is looking behind the sofa cushions for money right now, but security isn’t something you should skimp on. We turn to the courts to decide some of our most high-profile and pressing matters. I don’t think it’s too much to ask that they be allowed to operate in a safe environment. Hopefully, it won’t take an incident before we learn our lesson.