News from Council District 8
Councilmember Dow Constantine
www.metrokc.gov/constantine
News Release
Contact: Dow Constantine
April 25, 2005
(206) 296-1008
Constantine: Citizens Have Right to Safety in Court FacilitiesCounty Councilmember Speaks At National Judicial ConferenceLocal governments have a duty to provide safe court facilities, King County Councilmember Dow Constantine told participants at the National Summit on Judicial Branch Security.Constantine, an attorney and former co-chair of the Washington State House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, joined a select group of judges, court administrators, attorneys and elected officials invited to participate in the summit. The event was presented by the National Center for State Courts and partially funded by the U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday, April 21 in Washington, D.C. Constantine pointed out that many courthouse visitors are legally required to be there, including jurors, defendants and witnesses. “People are compelled by law to come to the courthouse and, because of that, I believe we have the highest obligation to provide them with a secure environment,” he said. Although a 1996 Washington state task force called for entrance screening (including the use of metal detectors and x-ray machines to check bags) at all courthouses, many smaller courts lack the resources to purchase screening equipment and the personnel to operate it, noted Constantine. A recent informal survey of Washington District and Municipal Courts showed that just 20 of 60 responding courts had full entrance screening and 24 had no formal security.However, a review of 24 courthouse shootings in the United States since 1990 shows that half the incidents occurred in small jurisdictions. Further, most shootings were related not to high-profile cases but everyday proceedings, such as hearings on child custody, divorce, and no-contact orders.”Whether you’re in the state’s biggest jurisdiction or whether you’re in a county courthouse in a county of 3,000 people, you are entitled to be safe,” said Constantine. “We need state coordination [of courthouse security] at a minimum and the establishment of clear expectations for what the courthouse security environment will be throughout the state.”Constantine was working at the King County Courthouse as a Council aide in 1995 when Susana Blackwell and her unborn child, Phoebe Dizon, and Veronica Johnson were shot and killed by Blackwell’s estranged husband in the courthouse hallway. He noted that the King County Council had already funded the purchase of metal detectors at the time of the murders, but full entrance screening hadn’t yet been implemented. This delay came, in part, due to a debate over whether citizens had a right to carry firearms in the non-court-related areas of a public building.Constantine pointed out that more than one-third of recent courthouse shootings took place in non-court areas of the buildings, such as lobbies and parking areas. “The need for security doesn’t end at the courthouse door,” he said.###Courthouse Safety-Pg 2
