Officials Order New Locks So Quake Can’t Trap Jurors

Los Angeles city fire officials have ordered the immediate replacement of door locks on jury deliberation rooms in the year-old Van Nuys Municipal Court building that could have resulted in jurors being trapped during a major earthquake or fire.

The locks, which according to city fire codes are illegal in public places, can only be unlocked using keys. Because jurors are not given keys to the doors, they must rely on a bailiff being present to let them out.

The illegal locks were discovered after a juror complained that he and fellow members of a jury on a theft case were locked in a sixth-floor jury room during last week’s 5.5 earthquake.

The fire department gave courthouse officials one week to change the double-cylinder deadbolt locks on the doors to the 22 jury rooms in order to meet city fire codes, said Lt. Steve Day of the Los Angeles County Marshal’s Service, which provides security for the courthouse.

“The building hadn’t even stopped moving” from the earthquake before the bailiff assigned to the courtroom unlocked the jury room door, Day said. But the juror pointed out that had the deputy been incapacitated, the jury could have been trapped.

An engineer by occupation, the juror recognized the locks as a city fire code violation, Day said.

It is the policy to lock jurors in jury rooms during deliberations so that no one can interrupt them or attempt to influence them, Day said.

In Van Nuys Superior Court, where security is handled by bailiffs from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, jury rooms also are generally locked during deliberations, but those doors can be opened from the inside, said Sgt. Herman Trevizo. In addition, some of the jury room doors in that courthouse have “kick panels” that can be kicked open so that jurors can crawl out in case of emergency, he said.

A county locksmith will begin installing locks immediately that can be opened from the inside without a key, said Day. In the meantime, the locks have been fixed so that they cannot be locked, he said.

Robert J. Quist, deputy court administrator for branch court operations, said officials are checking to see who is to blame for installing the improper locks. The cost of replacing them will be about $500. He said the county will seek reimbursement from the building’s contractor, Tutor-Saliba, if it is found that specifications were not followed.

The building passed inspection by city and state fire officials when it opened in February, 1989.