SOME OF THE most dangerous situations in district court occur not in court, but at the front counter as court clerks cope with agitated members of the public or individuals charged with criminal offenses. The Legislature is now considering a bill to protect those clerks and citizens using the courts by providing a regular security presence in every district court.

This bill, which would fund staffing at 21 smaller courts by utilizing part-time security officers, goes a step beyond the Legislature’s actions last month, when it appropriated $300,000 to resolve a short-term court security funding crisis triggered by a $1.8 million budget cut. The district courts currently provide security at smaller courts only when court is in session.

The Legislature is now considering the bill, already passed by the Senate, which would fund full-time coverage for all district courts, including the 21 smaller courts where sessions are not held daily. At these courts, court clerks and their assistants are unprotected in their daily dealings with individuals on matters involving minor criminal or juvenile offenses, domestic violence complaints, landlord-tenant matters, and the collection of fines.

SB 455 would provide funding for full-time coverage using part-time court security officers paid on a per-diem basis. District Court Administrative Judge Edwin W. Kelly said the court system has accepted the Legislature’s decision to fund court security personnel at salaries (but with no benefits) comparable to the per-diem amounts paid to bailiffs who provide security in the superior courts (and are supervised by county sheriffs).

The bill proposes an immediate implementation of additional security by tapping the court facilities escrow fund up to a maximum of $700,000. The money drawn from the escrow fund would be reimbursed by a temporary $10 surcharge on filing fees in all courts except probate court, where the extra fee would be $5. (Probate fees have already been increased by $5 to reflect additional costs in that court.) The surcharge would last only until the escrow fund is paid back, and the court would include the additional security coverage in the next biennial budget, Kelly said.

Sen. Cliff Below, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, testified in support of the bill. "In many of our district courts, the office is staffed by only one person who must deal with all sorts of people who are coming in to pay fines, domestic violence victims seeking a restraining order because they fear for their safety, or the alleged abuser who is coming in to contest a restraining order that has removed him from his home. These employees are dealing with all sorts of personalities. We owe it to our citizens as well as to the employees to provide a reasonable level of security in our court facilities," Below said.

In response to questions from House Finance Chair Neal Kurk, Kelly said SB 455 is not an attempt to circumvent the Legislature’s intention to create parity between funding for personnel serving the district and superior courts. Kelly said this proposal "recognizes the administrative reality" that the courts will now be using part-time, per-diem personnel to provide security.

Kelly said that the courts have always wanted to heighten security for the state’s smaller courts, but that security concerns are justifiably more prominent now, in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the security funding crisis. Kelly also recalled other tragedies closer to home – the shootings at the town offices in Newbury and the 1997 slaying of Colebrook District Court Special Justice Vickie Bunnell, which occurred in sight of the Colebrook District Court and was witnessed by the terrified court clerk who was alone at the time, Kelly said.

Kelly also said the Governor’s Task Force on Terrorism, in assessing risks, found that the small district courts are particularly vulnerable to violence by a deranged person. James O’Neill, director of security for the AOC, provided statistical background on the security issues the courts face. He recounted that 17,000 potential weapons were confiscated in 2001, including 28 handguns, 2,763 knives and a machete; 54 assault threats made in courthouses were reported; and 13 bomb threats and 19 suspicious packages were sent to the courts or judges.

The bill drew some skeptical questions from members of the House Finance Committee, however. One legislator compared the plight of court clerks with others who work alone while dealing with the public, such as convenience store clerks and town hall clerks. Kurk was also concerned about whether the overall level of spending for security for the district courts was going to increase.

"There is a qualitative difference in the type of business transacted in a district court compared to that in a town hall or a local ‘quick-mart,’" said Kelly. "You have to consider the types of people who utilize our courts and the types of business transacted there."

Action on the bill by the House Finance Committee is expected later this month.

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