Courthouse Security Measures Get Results

More than 1,800 weapons, including three loaded guns, have been discovered since tightened security was imposed at the downtown Los Angeles County Courthouse five months ago, Superior Court officers said Friday.

About half the weapons, most of them knives, were taken from attorneys working in the nine-story civil courthouse.

Many of the weapons were small pocketknives or other commonly carried implements.

The Superior Court’s policy is to confiscate items classified as weapons, then return them to the individuals who own them, except when loaded firearms are found. In those cases, the gun owners are arrested.

There have been complaints from some of the 8,000 daily visitors to the courthouse about delays that develop in passing through security checks. But court officials say most people who work in the building approve of the security measures.

“Most of the people who use the court have a more secure feeling, especially on the second floor, where the family courts are,” said Assistant Presiding Judge James A. Bascue. “ . . . We feel strongly that the small inconvenience is clearly outweighed by the security we’ve achieved.”

“It doesn’t cause me a problem,” said a court clerk who spoke on condition of anonymity. “I don’t want anyone coming in here and shooting me. They need security.”

Safety concerns increased in 1995, when Eileen Zelig was shot to death in the courthouse by her ex-husband, Harry Zelig, as an outgrowth of a Family Court dispute.

The county courthouse is a relative latecomer to sophisticated weapons screening. One problem was that the facility, at 111 N. Hill St., had 17 entrances. Weapons screening stations have been set up at five entrances and the others have been closed.

Weapons taken by security officers over the last five months included 1,438 knives with blades of varying lengths, 311 Mace or pepper spray cans, 17 martial arts implements and 14 firearms.

Court courier Brendan Etter, 29, who delivers filings to the court clerk’s office, said the added time getting into the courthouse can keep a case from being filed.

“Attorneys sometimes give us documents to file right at the last minute,” said Etter.

Still, Etter said he supports the increased security. “I want everybody to be safe, for sure,” he said.