Courthouse

I completely agree with the decision by Baltimore Circuit Judge Marcella A. Holland to ban using Twitter, Facebook, and other social networking sites inside Baltimore courthouses ("Twitter in the court," Feb. 15). I agree that our court system is based on openness to citizens and letting the average man decide, but there has to be a limit on the openness. The usual jury of 12 seems enough to give a verdict on a defendant's guilt. Bailiffs need to be there to help impose order, and of course the state and defendant need representation through legal counsel.

Howard County's 19th-century courthouse has seen a 40 percent increase in jury trials in the past year, causing court officials to clamor for a new facility. "Our county is growing, our population is growing, and that means more case filing," said Administrative Judge Lenore R. Gelfman. "The demands have been significant for a while. " Gelfman, County State's Attorney Dario J. Broccolino and Sheriff James F. Fitzgerald told the County Council last week that the increase is too much for the 170-year-old Ellicott City courthouse, which is cramped and outdated.

Baltimore police have arrested a second suspect in the videotaped beating of a man outside the city's downtown courthouse and are looking for two other people in the attack watched by tens of thousands on the Internet. Shayone Davis, 20, is being held on $750,000 bail on charges of armed robbery and two counts of assault. Police have identified her as the woman seen in the video dancing, then slapping the victim across the face after he had been knocked to the ground unconscious on March 18. Baltimore police said the man had his wallet and keys stolen, and that the female suspect assaulted him with a high-healed shoe.

Baltimore police have arrested a second suspect in the videotaped beating of a man outside the city's downtown courthouse and are looking for two other people in the attack watched by tens of thousands on the Internet. Shayone Davis, 20, is being held on $750,000 bail on charges of armed robbery and two counts of assault. Police have identified her as the woman seen in the video dancing, then slapping the victim across the face after he had been knocked to the ground unconscious on March 18. Baltimore police said the man had his wallet and keys stolen, and that the female suspect assaulted him with a high-healed shoe.

Eddie Murphy was recently at the Clarence M. Mitchell Courthouse to shoot some scenes for a new film. When those scenes eventually flash on area movie screens, local officials and citizens no doubt will puff their chests, just as they did 13 years ago when the city courthouse was featured in ". . . And Justice for All," the Al Pacino movie co-written by Barry Levinson.But that's show biz. In real life, city and state officials apparently lack enough pride in the 92-year-old landmark to save it from falling apart.

Police continue to investigate several threatening letters — some containing bullets or white powder — that arrived at City Hall and the Clarence M. Mitchell Jr. courthouse Monday and Friday, authorities said. City Hall was evacuated for about 40 minutes today after a mail clerk opened a letter that contained a white powder that police later determined to be harmless, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. Four Circuit Court judges also received threatening letters, at least two containing bullets, according to authorities.

The names on the small campaign signs seem strangely unfamiliar: Reddish, Rappaport, Hartleb, MacFarlane, Dodd, Moore, Fitzgerald, McNeal. They are the people who want elective, though often obscure, courthouse jobs. But that doesn't mean they don't compete just as fiercely as candidates running for county executive or governor. There is no competition this year for the best-known courthouse job — incumbent Howard County State's Attorney Dario Broccolino, a Democrat, has no opponent — but other court officials face a wall of public indifference and ignorance about what they do. Worse, register of wills candidates were left off a few sample ballots mailed to some county voters, though replacements were provided.

Health inspectors found no traces of the bacteria that cause Legionnaires' disease at Clarence M. Mitchell Jr. Courthouse, the city's health commissioner said yesterday. Dr. Peter L. Beilenson said that inspectors took samples throughout the building after the disease was diagnosed in a court employee two weeks ago, and that all test results were negative. "It should help to reassure staff members," Beilenson said. He said he was surprised that the courthouse tests were clean. Most institutions have traces of the bacteria somewhere, he said.

A dozen Annapolis business leaders braved the sweltering heat Friday afternoon to rally in front of the city's historic courthouse in support of a $43 million expansion project.Downtown merchants, lawyers, and representatives of the hotel and restaurant industry urged Annapolis' historic preservationists to approve the planned 250,000-square-foot Circuit Courthouse near Church Circle."Without the courthouse, it is easy to visualize either a ramshackle empty downtown or a tourist boardwalk," said Terry Drake, president of the Annapolis Business Coalition.

The Annapolis Historic District Commission last night gave the go-ahead for construction of a $43 million Anne Arundel County courthouse in downtown Annapolis.The approval was contingent on several cosmetic changes in the design, and on county officials returning to the commission with more details on landscaping, lighting, signs, and renovations of the existing court house.The approval means the county can proceed with site preparation, expected to begin this summer. Work will progress in phases, with completion scheduled for 1998.

Can someone explain to me why the beating of a white man outside Courthouse East by a group of black men is not a hate crime? ("Bealefeld: Downtown beating caught on tape not a hate crime," April 10.) If the victim was black and beaten at the hands of a gang of whites, Al Sharpton would be on Pratt Street within hours. The double standard is driving a permanent wedge into race relations, and the media only feeds on the story of the poor victimized African-American. We still don't know the facts in the Trayvon Martin case, but we should never let the facts get in the way of a good protest.

Holly Atwood, 18, chose a sequined, strapless wedding gown and train with a shoulder-length veil for her wedding to Steven Joseph, 21. He wore a tuxedo with a red vest and tie, a nod to Valentine's Day. She was so nervous she left her heels in the car and walked into the Baltimore County Courthouse in satin slippers. Court Clerk Julie Ensor officiated at the brief civil ceremony and offered the Harford County couple best wishes. Theirs was among the last of nearly 30 weddings there on Valentine's Day, the most love-infused day of the year and the busiest wedding date at many area courthouses.

Baltimore prosecutors might soon be packing up and leaving their cramped digs in the city's 112-year-old courthouse for a newer downtown office building. A plan being pushed by leaders in Baltimore and Annapolis would provide up to $1 million for the Baltimore state's attorney's office to rent space a few blocks from the courthouse, moving about 200 lawyers and support staff into their own quarters for the first time since the city courthouse opened in January 1900. State's Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein pitched the idea Friday to lawmakers in Annapolis, saying that the current configuration contributes to inefficiencies and poses public safety problems.

Baltimore County government this week unveiled a little hometown pride - and its sports preference - when it turned Towson's Historic Courthouse signature dome purple on Friday, Jan. 6. County officials said the gesture is meant to support the Baltimore Ravens march to this year's Super Bowl, and also make it clear that the county considers the Ravens its team because of the franchise's headquarters in the county. "We are very proud that the Ravens corporate headquarters are located in Owings Mills," said Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz in a press release about the courthouse tribute.  "While we are delighted to share 'our' team with the entire region, we take special pride in knowing that the Ravens call Baltimore County home.

Towson resident Wolfgang Oehme, an internationally renowned landscape architect whose designs revolutionized American - and Towson - landscaping died from cancer Dec. 15 at his home in Aigburth Vale. He was 80. County police became accustomed to seeing Oehme lurking around the Old Courthouse in downtown Towson at midnight or 2 a.m. while other people slept. Oehme designed Courthouse Gardens with county landscape architect Avery Harden in 1988. "He couldn't stand to see a garden abused by weeds," former county planning director Les Graef said.

Marshall E. Price, a Caroline County blacksmith, met his fate at the end of a rope wielded by a lynch mob on July 2, 1895, for the murder of a 13-year-old girl, Sallie E. Dean, whom he accosted as she made her way to school. Earlier this month, with a friend, Joe Coale, I went to the Eastern Shore to spend a perfectly wonderful sun-splashed autumn day with former Gov. Harry R. Hughes, who lives in Denton. After talking for a while in the den of his home, Hughes suggested a tour of some of the county's historic sites.

The Clarence M. Mitchell Jr. Courthouse had a full docket for its Centennial Gala. In two courtrooms, motions were being made -- motions like the foxtrot and frug -- as dance bands took the stand, turning the chambers into a ballroom and disco. Other courtrooms offered exhibitions and video presentations about the 100-year history of the distinguished courthouse and its artifacts. In the lobbies, Italian marble columns and mosaic murals provided an elegant setting for guests to help themselves at the buffet tables, while at the same time helping the Centennial Celebration Committee raise $90,000 for Mitchell Courthouse renovations.

Back in the summer, plans were made for Howard County Courthouse offices and operations to temporarily relocate while the 170-year-old building was renovated. They were supposed to move around Labor Day. But nobody has budged yet. Telephone and security issues had delayed the Circuit Court's change of venue, but now all that remains is to work out the switch of telephone service to the temporary site in Columbia, officials said. A new date for the move has not been set, but county officials said they expect it will take place within a few months.

Volunteer lawyers will provide up to a half-hour of free legal advice for three afternoons this week in the county's law library. People can come into the law library between noon and 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to talk with a lawyer about a civil legal issue, said law librarian Joan M. Bellistri. No appointment is required. Advice will not be given on criminal matters. The law library is located on the third floor of the Anne Arundel County Court House on Church Circle, Annapolis.