Security for county courtroom reviewed

An additional security measure for the Union County Courthouse was requested to the Union County board of supervisors by a group of judges who work in various Iowa counties.

The request was communicated during Monday’s regular meeting by Union County buildings and grounds coordinator Shawn Lauer, recommending a door with a location closer to where the judge precedes in the courtroom.

If a dangerous event were to occur inside the courtroom, such as an intruder looking to physically assault a judge, the judge would have minimal ways to escape. In most circumstances, they would have to traverse through or past the danger to flee. A closer exit could prevent harm to the judge.

Two exits are available in the courtroom, but the closest one for judges is near the witness stand, which the organization of judges say is too far away to avoid hazards. A suggestion for a security door to be available directly behind the judge was considered.

Some members of the board wondered if a new security door would be cost-effective. In more than 70 years, an incident where someone would enter the courtroom to attack a judge has never occurred in Union County.

“It’s only worth it if you need it,” supervisor Dennis Hopkins said. “That’s the hard part. For some people, insurance is definitely worth it. For some people, it probably isn’t. You’re spending money on something that might never get used.”

Out of the 94 U.S. district courts, of which Iowa has two, 30,300 officials are protected by the U.S. Marshalls Service. The Marshalls investigated 822 threats toward those protected officials in 2024, and 1,061 threats in 2023.

No action was made on the issue.

Lauer additionally made his request for funding in fiscal year 2026. Budget for buildings and grounds was requested for $177,600, a 3% increase of operating costs and a total adjusted budget increase of 4.8% when accounting for increases to employee salaries.

Increased operating costs were attributed to the increased prices of vendors. Additional costs related to maintenance were also discussed.

The next regular meeting of the Union County board of supervisors will take place at 9 a.m., Wednesday, Feb. 19 to make up for the federal holiday of President’s Day.