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Leesburg, Virginia: Looks like the traditional Loudoun County Courthouse Christmas displays will be absent this year. For almost 50 years the Rotary Club of Leesburg has placed a Christmas tree on the courthouse grounds, Leesburg Today reported. For 20 years, Dennis and Debbie Welch has set up the courthouse nativity scene. But a new policy from the Facilities and Grounds Committee of the Loudoun County Courthouse prohibits any displays, according to Leesburg Today. Phil Rusciolelli has spearheaded the Rotary Club's Christmas tree initiative the past five years.

A security guard who walked into the Orange County Courthouse with a firearm this morning faces charges of possession of a concealed firearm and possession of a firearm in a restricted area, deputies said. Matthew Gilbert Pennington, 25, told Orange County sheriff's deputies he had forgotten the 9mm Springfield XD in his backpack. The weapon contained 16 rounds of armor piercing ammunition, according to a Florida Department of Law Enforcement report. Pennington works for a private security company. The name of the company was not released. FDLE records show he has no previous criminal history. Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings...

There has been suprisingly little reportage of the actual details of would-be shopping mall terrorist, Mr. Talib Abu Salam Ibn Shareef's mindset and intentions. So as a public service, here the FBI agent's affidavit (pdf file) in easy to read format. Talib Abu Salam Ibn Shareef STATE OF ILLINOIS)) COUNTY OF COOK)AFFIDAVIT1. I, Jared Ruddy, Federal Bureau of Investigation, being duly sworn, state as follows: I am a Special Agent in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) and have been so employed for more than two years. I am currently assigned to an FBI Counterterrorism squad as well as the...

May 12, 2009 Note: The following text is a quote: Leader of Liberty City Six Convicted on All Counts, Four Others Convicted on Multiple Counts, and One Defendant Acquitted on Charges of Conspiring to Support Al Qaeda, Attack Targets in the United States After a three-month trial, a Miami jury convicted five men of multiple charges that include conspiring to provide material support to the al Qaeda terrorist organization and conspiracy to levy war against the U.S. by discussing and planning attacks on targets in the U.S., including the Sears Tower in Chicago and the FBI building and other federal...

MOSUL — Following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, the instability of the law enforcement and justice system here created a vacuum allowing insurgent groups to gain a foothold in the region. The recent renovation of the old Mosul Courthouse is helping to return to the Rule of Law to the Mosul justice system. The nine-month, $511,000 project, funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, provides a number of security upgrades designed to protect both citizens and Iraqi Justice Department employees. Security upgrades include magnetometers, X-ray machines, exterior lighting, ballistic glass, a digital...

BASRA, Iraq, Feb. 27, 2009 – Hundreds of people celebrated the dedication yesterday of a new six-court regional justice courthouse here, slated to become the highest court in Iraq’s Basra province. "This courthouse will be a monument of justice," Medhatt al-Mahmoud, chairman for the Iraqi Judiciary Commission, said. "Iraqi justice is very strong. It will not allow outside influences to keep it from serving justice." The regional courthouse is a $10 million, U.S.-funded project, and is scheduled to become operational in about 10 days. It will serve as the highest court in the province, handling civil and criminal cases. "I...

Circular staircase near the main rotunda. (USACE photo by Alicia Embrey) BABIL — A new regional courthouse is taking shape to help Babil Province enforce the rule of law. The new $7 million facility is scheduled to be complete next spring. “The Iraqi judiciary has a long and proud history going back before the founding of the country itself,� said Mark Robbins, Rule of Law advisor with the Babil Provincial Reconstruction Team. “For the most part, the judiciary in Babil enjoys the respect of the people,� he said.  “But many years of neglect under the previous regime has left it...

BASRAH — Officials in Basrah will soon open a new 11,000-square-meter, two-story courthouse and witness protection facility here providing visual proof that the rule of law is once again a fundamental pillar of this nation. “When completed, the new judicial facility will serve more than two million residents,” said Keith Addams, Gulf Region Division. “It’s a magnificent structure built by local Iraqis who tell me they’re very proud to be part of this effort. As I drive around to different job sites in Basrah and I see the dome of the new courthouse off in the distance, I can’t help...

SAN DIEGO — An early morning explosion at the federal courthouse in downtown San Diego left a door damaged and blew out a window. Sgt. Bob Dare of the San Diego Police Department says the loud blast occurred at about 1:40 a.m. Sunday. Streets in the area have been closed. No injuries were reported. The explosion is under investigation. FBI Special Agent Darrell Foxworth told a local TV station it appears the explosion may have been caused by a pipe bomb.

U.S. Wary Of Small Boat Terrorism As boating season approaches, the Bush administration wants to enlist America's 80 million recreational boaters to help reduce the chances that a small boat could deliver a nuclear or radiological bomb somewhere along the 95,000 miles of U.S. coastline and inland waterways. According to an April 23 intelligence assessment obtained by The Associated Press, "The use of a small boat as a weapon is likely to remain al Qaeda's weapon of choice in the maritime environment, given its ease in arming and deploying, low cost, and record of success." While the United States...

BASRAH — A courthouse and witness protection facility project is providing hundreds of jobs as well as technical and management training for many people in this southern Iraq city. At last count the project was employing on average 350 local workers a day and has helped the local economy to grow, according to Leo Sandoval, resident engineer with the Basrah Area Office of the Gulf Region South (GRS) district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). In addition, Sandoval said, USACE has trained construction and management staff on construction processes from in-the-trenches field construction to management responsibilities for handling...

A disputed portrait of Jesus Christ will remain at the Slidell city courthouse in Louisiana after a federal judge refused to grant a demand by the American Civil Liberties Union to have the painting removed.

BASTROP (TV8) - Morehouse Parish Sheriff Danny McGrew confirms two Bastrop police officers were shot and killed Friday afternoon in downtown Bastrop. McGrew says one suspect was also shot and killed. Two emergency medical technicians were shot and wounded. One was reported to be in surgery at Morehouse General Hospital. At least one other suspect was said to be in a standoff with police at the Best Budget Inn on South Franklin Street near the courthouse square. McGrew said the suspects were possibly persons of interest in a double homicide in Texas, but that was not confirmed. TV8 News reporter...

BAGHDAD — Construction workers are busy building an addition to the Kadhimiyah Courthouse in western Baghdad. A new, one-story, 427 square-meter building is under construction that will expand the overall facility by 25 percent. The Criminal Investigation Court includes three judges, two prosecutors and 11 judicial investigators. The Personal Status Court has three judges. About 300 litigants attend the court daily. The new building, which adjoins the existing facility, will be used by both the Al Fajr and Atifiya city councils. Al Fajr chairman, Mr. Ali, said the new structure is a great addition to the community. “This facility demonstrates...

Democrats joined Republicans on Monday in voting to name a Missouri courthouse after Rush H. Limbaugh Sr. A thank-you gesture for the conservative radio host who has made a career of scourging Democrats and their liberal allies? Not quite. The man whose name will be carved into the new federal courthouse in Cape Girardeau, Mo., was the commentator's grandfather, a prominent attorney and civic leader who died in 1996 at age 104 after practicing law for nearly 80 years. Before his death he was thought to be the oldest working lawyer in the country. The measure was sponsored by Rep....

If members of Missouri's congressional delegation get their way, a new U.S. courthouse set to open this spring on Independence Street also may carry the Rush Limbaugh name. But before liberals get too bent out of shape, they should consider this: It's not that Rush Limbaugh who is in line for the honor. CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — Painted along the floodwall protecting this historic Mississippi River town is a huge mural of famous Missourians, and right up there along with Harry Truman, Mark Twain and Jesse James is Rush Limbaugh. Visitors can buy refrigerator magnets and postcards hailing Cape Girardeau's...

Tikrit -- Iraq has been serious in its efforts to improve the rule of law. To help the city improve judicial services to its 100,000 residents, the Army Corps of Engineers recently renovated and expanded Tikrit’s courthouse.The city, located on the banks of the Tigris River, is the capital of Salah ad Din Province and has the added responsibility to adjudicating cases from the entire province. Engineers renovated he courthouse to provide better conditions for the region’s new political leaders to do their jobs. The electrical renovation included new wiring and fixtures throughout the old building, enabling it to support...

RENO, Nev. (AP) — A judge has been shot at a courthouse in Reno, a police spokesman says.

<p>Rush Limbaugh's attorney has issued a statement announcing a settlement of the Florida prosecutor's investigation into alleged doctor shopping by Rush Limbaugh.</p> <p>Details have been read by Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh. Basically, the charge of doctor shopping is dismissed, with some conditions.</p>

Javier Rodriguez (Colchester-WTNH, Dec. 6, 2005 Updated 5:55 AM ) _ State Police have arrested a 28-year-old man in connection with the bomb threats that closed down courthouses across the state on Friday. Javier Rodriguez from Willimantic has been charged with terrorism, threatening, falsely reporting an incident, criminal attempted larceny and harassment. He was arrested at his home Monday. Police say Rodriguez was scheduled to be in court Friday on lesser criminal charges. Authorities say he made four calls from a pay phone. Chief State's Attorney Chris Morano wants to recover monetary damages in addition to criminal prosecution. "The monetary...

Bomb Threat Clears Connecticut Courthouses POSTED: 12:21 pm CST December 2, 2005 UPDATED: 12:29 pm CST December 2, 2005 HARTFORD, Conn. -- Court buildings around Connecticut have been evacuated because of a bomb threat. The threat was phoned in to the governor's office Friday morning, and it prompted police to evacuate state court buildings. Officials aren't saying just how many of the dozens of court buildings around the state were cleared. The evacuations are interrupting trials and sending judges, lawyers and others into the streets. U.S. Marshal John Bardelli said bomb squads were sweeping federal courts in Bridgeport, New Haven...

Blast Outside Georgia Courthouse Probed Saturday November 26, 2005 10:46 PM HINESVILLE, Ga. (AP) - An explosion erupted outside the Liberty County Courthouse early Saturday, and police were investigating the possibility that a crude explosive device had been set off. The blast, around 6 a.m., didn't cause any injuries, said Rich Marianos, an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Officials said parts and evidence recovered by authorities led them to believe the explosion may have been caused by a crude explosive device.

Posted on Sun, Aug. 21, 2005 CAVALIER SHOOTING: Gunman charged Hensel, N.D., farmer hospitalized after shootout with officers over protection order By Elisa L. Rineheart Herald Staff Writer CAVALIER, N.D. - James Thorlakson, the Hensel, N.D., farmer arrested late Friday for shooting a police officer and setting two public buildings on fire, was charged Saturday with eight counts of attempted murder. Pembina County Sheriff Wayne Samdahl confirmed many of the details that were rumored late Friday, including that Thorlakson was arrested at a Park River, N.D., hospital, about 30 miles south of Cavalier. Thorlakson drove himself to the hospital to...

....But now, both eyebrows and voices are being raised at a lawsuit that some local government officials are calling a "cheap stunt" and "absolutely insane." In papers filed last week in Superior Court here, the Warren County Bar Association alleged that the courthouse first constructed during the administration of John Quincy Adams and last renovated during Eisenhower's is "grossly overcrowded and in a state of disrepair," thus creating "an unsafe and unhealthy condition." Prisoners and jurors are not separated from the public, the suit further alleges, and there is not enough conference space.... With a population of about 110,000 spread...

Innovations on Socialist Architecture: The New U.S. Federal Courthouse as "Globalist Realism" New Republican Archive. James F. Burke. The new Federal Courthouse in Boston is the building many joke about. Office-workers in downtown Boston must live with it everyday, as they look down upon its strange-looking structure from high office windows. Many are utterly repulsed by its shape and ugly red-brick facade. Without that facade, that is, stripped to its basic shape and form (imagine it with basic white concrete for the purposes of this exercise), the building is unmistakably Stalinist in design. The only pleasing view of it is...

Whispers in the dark BY ADAM WALLWORTH Northwest Arkansas Times Posted on Sunday, July 3, 2005 Just because you don’t see dead people doesn’t mean they don’t see you, especially if you’re in the Historic Washington County Courthouse. Whether there will ever be enough evidence to definitively prove the historic Washington County Courthouse is haunted is anybody’s guess, but Tulsa Ghost Investigators didn’t leave empty handed after their June 4 stay in the century-old building. "This courthouse does indeed contain some rather interesting, if not creepy, activity which is as yet unexplained," wrote Vicky Glidewell in her report of the...

By Curt Woodward ASSOCIATED PRESS 8:22 p.m. June 21, 2005 SEATTLE – A man killed by police after he brandished a grenade in the federal courthouse here had grown increasingly upset and unstable recently as years of frustration with the child custody system mounted, friends said Tuesday. Perry L. Manley, 52, was shot to death by police Monday in the courthouse's public lobby. Authorities said Manley had tried to bypass courthouse security while clutching a hand grenade, later found to be inactive. Police and federal agents evacuated the downtown building and cordoned off the surrounding streets during the standoff with...

Authorities Examine Courthouse Security POSTED: 12:18 pm PDT June 21, 2005 UPDATED: 12:56 pm PDT June 21, 2005 SEATTLE -- Officials with the FBI and Seattle Police Department were meeting on Tuesday to review security policies following Monday's fatal shooting of a man in the lobby of the new federal courthouse. U.S. Marshal Eric Robertson said training paid off when the man walked into the lobby with a grenade. The man was shot and killed but no one else was hurt, and the building was quickly evacuated. The man, Perry Manley, 52, of Seattle, was apparently bitter after a divorce...

COURTHOUSE HAS HISTORY OF THINGS GOING BUMP IN THE NIGHT BY ADAM WALLWORTH Northwest Arkansas Times Posted on Sunday, May 8, 2005 Maybe it’s the history of the place, or maybe it’s the lack of sleep, but there’s something about the Historic Washington County Courthouse. Whether that something was once human can be argued, but walking the halls of the building in the wee hours, it becomes apparent why so many people throughout the years have told of experiences with the unexplainable. Strange noises and doors that move of their own accord are common themes in the stories of those...

ATLANTA, March 18 (AP) - The city's embattled Police Department acknowledged Friday that it made mistakes just after the deadly courthouse rampage here a week ago, and the chief said the suspect had spent as much as 12 hours undetected outside a busy mall. The police chief, Richard J. Pennington, said he would oversee a full review of his department's response to the attacks. Among the issues to be studied, Chief Pennington said, will be communication problems among law enforcement agencies and their mistaken focus on searching for a carjacked vehicle that they believed the accused, Brian Nichols, was using...

The recent killings in an Atlanta courthouse brought a few heated comments about the role of crime reporting on NPR. Some listeners worried that NPR might be moving toward tabloid journalism in giving this story the prominence that it did. Following the murder of a judge's husband and mother in Chicago, I think it was a good decision to cover the Atlanta story as well. However, NPR frequently mentioned the gender of the courtroom guard who was overpowered and shot with her own gun by the fugitive. That evoked strong reactions from many listeners. The implication was that the female...

MSNBC just reported this as Flash News.

This is a breaking news situation. A man entered a courtroom in the Fulton County Courthouse this morning and shot a Fulton County Sheriff's deputy, a clerk and a judge; there are reports from both WSB and WAGA, the judge is deceased. The perp has carjacked multiple vehicles -- now on his third -- and is still at large. I've just come from downtown Atlanta, and the city is a madhouse.

Staff writer Don O'Briant, who was carjacked Friday morning, told this story while he was in the emergency room at Atlanta Medical Center getting stiches above his left eye, about 90 minutes after the carjacking happened. I had just parked my car in the parking lot behind the Chinese restarurant at the corner of Spring Street and Marietta Street and was going to work, a little after 9 a.m.This person pulled in beside me, and I noticed that he had pulled into a handicapped spot. He was a young, athletic looking black man, and he didn't have a shirt on,...

[Editor's Note: This article first appeared on August 27, 2003.]Every day the nation is reminded of how much the Left wants to remove the subject of God from the American lexicon and, thereby, the American mindset. They support cries to remove the Ten Commandments from schools and courthouses, to strike "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance, to erase "In God We Trust" from our currency, and to prevent Nativity scenes from appearing on court house lawns. Anything that alludes to Judeo-Christian theology automatically receives the disdain of liberals. And few things point to the authority and history of the...

WASHINGTON -- The new federal courthouse complex in downtown Los Angeles will cost $100 million more than expected and won't solve the headaches of working in separate buildings that judges, lawyers and employees have long complained about, according to a new government audit released Monday. The Government Accountability Office report got lots of agreement from those who had wanted a single large federal courthouse downtown to relieve overcrowding and improve efficiency. Congress rejected the single-building plan as too pricey, but GAO analysts said it actually would have cost taxpayers less money. "I just don't see how any Congress people can...

LAW OF THE LAND Bush backs Ten Commandments Justice Department weighs in on Supreme Court case -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: December 11, 2004 1:00 a.m. Eastern -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com Arguing that religion "has played a defining role" in American history, the Bush administration urged the U.S. Supreme Court to allow Ten Commandments displays in courthouses. A brief filed by the Justice Department supports two Kentucky counties accused of violating the First Amendment ban on congressional establishment of religion by posting copies of the Ten Commandments. As WorldNetDaily reported, the Supreme Court will hear arguments early next year and likely will issue...

JUST BREAKING!! FIRE ALL OVER THE PLACE!

CHESTERTOWN, Md. -- The word "ghost" is hot on the lips of Kent County Court House employees. A new $75,000 security system installed July 1 hasn't caught any criminals, but it did capture some haunting images of what appears to be a strange light "walking" in one stairwell. "It didn't show up to the eye, but it showed up on tape," said security officer Phillip Price. Security personnel first saw the light while looking at a surveillance tape recorded July 29, and it appeared live for more than an hour the next day. After noticing the light, Price walked up...

A federal appeals court judge in Cincinnati says a lower court's decision to remove a small poster of the Ten Commandments from a courthouse is an "absurdity" because the judge in that case rendered the decision in the shadow of a mural containing the commandments. In her dissent, Judge Batchelder wrote that Judge DeWeese "began his brief by pointing out the absurdity of this case," given the contradiction involved.

Henry to Display Ten Commandments Move Could Prompt Legal Fight POSTED: 6:25 am EDT July 7, 2004 MCDONOUGH -- Henry County commissioners have voted to display the Ten Commandments in the county courthouse after a citizen donated a 3-by-2 foot framed copy. "Let them sue. I'm not afraid of a lawsuit," Commissioner Gerry Adams said Tuesday as the commission agreed to the display requested by Ray McBerry, who said he represented League of the South. McBerry suggested that his donated copy of the Ten Commandments, along with the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights, be placed in the...

<p>SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) -- A handgun went off at a courthouse checkpoint but it wasn't the owner's fault, the Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office said.</p> <p>The 75-year-old owner, whose name was not released, had turned the gun over to security guards and warned them to be careful because it was loaded, said Cindy Chadwick, a sheriff's office spokeswoman.</p>

<p>MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- A police officer shot a knife-wielding man several times Friday in a courthouse lobby, officials said.</p> <p>The victim, who was not identified, was hospitalized in an intensive care unit, said Bobby Hernandez, Miami Beach police spokesman.</p>

More to follow

<p>In an effort to make sure those who are accused of crimes show up in court, Forrest-Perry County Circuit Judge Bob Helfrich said he is requiring defendants to show up with their lawyer or bail bondsman monthly.</p> <p>And those who fail to make the trip to the Forrest County Courthouse face jail time as a result.</p>

'Ten Commandments' Justice Loses Again MONTGOMERY, Ala. - A federal appeals court declined Tuesday to lift an order requiring the chief justice of Alabama's Supreme Court to remove his Ten Commandments monument from the state judicial building by midnight Wednesday. Chief Justice Roy Moore immediately asked the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider what it had just decided, until the U.S. Supreme Court can rule on a petition by Moore to intervene. Moore, who installed the 5,300-pound monument in the rotunda of the judicial building two years ago, contends it represents the moral foundation of American law and...

Milwaukee County Sheriff's deputies found 28 rocks of crack cocaine tucked in the braided hair of a 16-year-old girl who was visiting the Milwaukee County Courthouse on Monday, a delinquency petition filed Tuesday states. The girl was charged Tuesday at Milwaukee County Children's Court with possession with intent to deliver more than 5 grams of cocaine, a felony. Officials said they did not know what business the girl had at the courthouse and the criminal justice facility on a school day. Assistant District Attorney Steven Licata said it was "audacious" for the girl to be at the courthouse with such...