Judge pulls gun in Florida court

Judge pulls gun in Florida court

www.breitbart.com

Mar 27 02:15 PM US/Eastern


JACKSONVILLE, Fla., March 27 (UPI) -- A Jacksonville, Fla., judge drew his handgun when an accused child molester was attacked by an alleged victim's father in court.

"I didn't know if he was going after me or the bailiffs or the defendant," Circuit Judge John Merrett told The (Jacksonville, Fla.) Times-Union.

The father, who had not seen the defendant before the court appearance, hurdled a railing and landed several punches on the handcuffed and shackled man before bailiffs restored order.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Mod Edit: Reduced News Quote Size.



[edit on 27/3/2007 by Mirthful Me]

Can anyone explain to me how a Judge gets to bring a weapon into the courtroom, whether he/she has a conceal carry permit or not? The permit explicitly prevents that from taking place.

I think this Judge should lose his permit.

www.breitbart.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 3/27/2007 by Infoholic]

There have been cases where judges have been shot and such..

Such as in Georgia what.. 2 years ago or so now?

I don't think a judge needs a gun though.... isn't that what police are there for? .. not to mention the fact that him shooting from the bench puts all the people in the seat in the line of fire..

he shouldn't loose his permit.. he should be asked to not bring a gun to work though.. unless its legal, then its his choice..

In Texas (and a few other states) there are laws which allow judges to carry weapons. One of the many reasons given is that judges are often the targets.


mg

I'm sorry, but the Judge is not above the law.

The following is a list of places where you are restricted from carrying a weapon or firearm even if you have a license. Please note that this is a simplified list. The places marked by an asterisk (*) may have exceptions or additional restrictions. See Section 790.06 (12), Florida Statutes for a complete listing.

# any detention facility, prison, or jail; any courthouse
# any courtroom*
source

790.06 License to carry concealed weapon or firearm.--

(12) No license issued pursuant to this section shall authorize any person to carry a concealed weapon or firearm into any place of nuisance as defined in s. 823.05; any police, sheriff, or highway patrol station; any detention facility, prison, or jail; any courthouse; any courtroom, except that nothing in this section would preclude a judge from carrying a concealed weapon or determining who will carry a concealed weapon in his or her courtroom; any polling place; any meeting of the governing body of a county, public school district, municipality, or special district; any meeting of the Legislature or a committee thereof; any school, college, or professional athletic event not related to firearms; any school administration building; any portion of an establishment licensed to dispense alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises, which portion of the establishment is primarily devoted to such purpose; any elementary or secondary school facility; any career center; any college or university facility unless the licensee is a registered student, employee, or faculty member of such college or university and the weapon is a stun gun or nonlethal electric weapon or device designed solely for defensive purposes and the weapon does not fire a dart or projectile; inside the passenger terminal and sterile area of any airport, provided that no person shall be prohibited from carrying any legal firearm into the terminal, which firearm is encased for shipment for purposes of checking such firearm as baggage to be lawfully transported on any aircraft; or any place where the carrying of firearms is prohibited by federal law. Any person who willfully violates any provision of this subsection commits a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
source

Well... I'll be. According to Florida law, the Judge can carry in the courtroom. I did not know that, but now I do.

Next question...

What makes the Judge above the law?

I must say.. I am rather curious as to.. did he whip it out from under his robe in grand fashion, perhaps, an uzi.. and say "Hello to my little friend!" .. because if he did, that would be awsome!

How is he "above the law"

If the law says he can carry....... hes abiding the law. Did I miss something? Do you have something against judges?

Originally posted by Rockpuck
How is he "above the law"

If the law says he can carry....... hes abiding the law. Did I miss something?

Do you have something against judges?

If I own a store, and I'm in that store... on the store front there's the "No Concealed Carry Signage."... then that means no one.... even me can have a concealed weapon in that store.

What's any different for the Judge?

I could be a target in my store, could I not?

It's nothing against Judges... it's against the government being treated better than the people, and clearly that is what is happening if that "clause" is in the laws.

......the government IS .... above the people in the sense your talking about.. your line of thought is hard to follow..

A cop shouldn't be allowed to carry a gun into a bank or a school?

A judge is on public property, if the law says, judge if you so please, carry a gun.. then thats ok? ... how is it wrong I simply do not understand?

Would you feel better if the police in the room do not carry guns as well? Should the defendant be given a gun to make sure the judge isnt above the law?

Irrational thoughts.. perhaps I just am not understanding..

Well at least he did'nt administer his own style of justice.

Seriously though, I don't have a problem with this, the defendant,
(regardles of what they did or did'nt do) was attacked, apart from that
as he said, he was'nt sure who was going to be attacked at first.

If I own a store, and I'm in that store... on the store front there's the "No Concealed Carry Signage."... then that means no one.... even me can have a concealed weapon in that store.

The right to carry is more important than what you want in this case.

I think the judges and bailiffs should be given tasers, and pepper foam and the bailiffs should have quick access to rifles under lock and guard for situations beyond a taser.

Where is the constitutional law that even says you need a permit to carry a gun?

First and foremost, I am completely for the Second Amendment, heart and soul. I think everyone should responsibly own and carry a weapon (gun). We have that Constitutional right to possess and bear arms.

Back on topic, the conceal carry law is new to me. I've only looked into it for a short time now, as you saw by my first couple posts, I didn't know what the law was, let alone in Florida. I looked up the law for Florida and to my dismay, seen that the Judge is actually allowed to pack heat in his/her courtroom... of which I don't understand why.

As warpboost said, I think they should be given a nonlethal means of controlling the courtroom, if in fact it is going to be listed by the signage that "no one" shall have a weapon in the courtroom. Which is where I was coming up with the "Judges are not above the law". The law (even though there's a provision for the Judge) is a means to maintain the safety in the courtroom, by keeping weapons out, right? There's no psychological test required (and shouldn't be) to determine if the Judge has balls of steel or not, as to ensure he/she won't panic during an outburst in the courtroom and end up shooting an innocent person sitting in the corner.

Maybe I jumped overboard too quickly by thinking it was hypocritical of the Judge to be allowed a special privilege that many American citizens have felt strongly that they have a right to as well. I understand that you can't have your cake and eat it, too.

Maybe I was right to think it was wrong. What if the Judge snapped under pressure from a long hard day, popped the bailiff (standing near that locked up gun), and then opened fire on the people? Who knows? How would the people have defended themselves?

In no way, shape, form, or fashion am I suggesting that we get rid of guns all together. I'd never stand for that. But this ideology that it's ok for the goose, but not for the gander... it just doesn't fly. It's just another form of control of the general populous, and not the "ruling" government.

AAAS, that's a very good point. I agree with that comment 100%.

omg i live there (well im in college now so presently im in a diff city) but this is the first ive heard of it. BTW its also not the first time in jacksonville that a defendent was attacked. A few years a go a father (along with the rest of the family) attacked the man who murdered their son in court. I dont think a judge or anyone should have a gun in court. What if the judge was crazy and had a bad day and decidd to shoot the prosecutor or something. (i didnt know that was legal there anyways...learn something new everyday)

Originally posted by ImpliedChaos
What if the judge was crazy and had a bad day and decidd to shoot the prosecutor or something. (i didnt know that was legal there anyways...learn something new everyday)

That's why there is an armed cop right next to him, and two armed
cops right outside the door.

Well that's not why they do it, but that really does prevent him from
going on a crazed spree.

Reminds me of the movie "And Justice for All..." with Al Pacino.
One Judge draws his gun in court and fires it to get people to calm down.

I think it's good Judges can carry a weapon, but I also think some judges are crazy and they should be pyschologically checked bi annually.

Originally posted by iori_komei

Originally posted by ImpliedChaos
What if the judge was crazy and had a bad day and decidd to shoot the prosecutor or something. (i didnt know that was legal there anyways...learn something new everyday)

That's why there is an armed cop right next to him, and two armed
cops right outside the door.

Well that's not why they do it, but that really does prevent him from
going on a crazed spree.

yeah but if he's crazy hewill be able to get a couple shots off before the cops even react

If the judge went crazy.. whats to stop him from just bringing a gun illegally into the room and shooting people......

People who break laws typically dont care what law they break no?

true it will just be easier for the judge can get past security with a gun, if its leagal for him to have it

Originally posted by AwakeAndAllSeeing
Where is the constitutional law that even says you need a permit to carry a gun?

The constitution says that you can own weapons. But many state laws have a concealed weapon permit. Its a permit to carry a concealed weapon. They are not hard to obtain.