Clerks worried about safety at Justice Court

Salt Lake Justice Court prides itself on being open and accessible to the public. But is that accessibility coming at the expense of safety?

At least two of the court's clerks told the Deseret Morning News and KSL-TV that they are concerned about safety at the court and want extra security measures to be installed. They said there were other clerks who also want beefed-up security.

Court clerk Sherawn Larson said she has called for tightened security measures for a couple of years.

"Nothing will be done unless some major thing happens. I would like to prevent that disaster from happening," she said.

But court manager Toni Marie Sutliff said she isn't uncomfortable with Justice Court security. But she also said that installing a magnetometer would probably give her staff and the public a greater sense of security and act as a deterrent to individuals who want to bring a weapon to court.

Overall, however, the current security measures are good, she said.

Between 300 to 400 people walk into Salt Lake County Justice Court each day. The court's most serious offenses are class-B misdemeanors such as DUI and disorderly conduct. Divorce cases are also handled in Justice Court. The majority of cases, however, are traffic citations.

But from 1997 to 2001 the percentage of people going to Salt Lake Justice Court for traffic citations compared with the percentage of those going for criminal misdemeanors, steadily changed each year.

Only 23 percent of the cases handled in 1997 were for misdemeanors while 77 percent were for traffic tickets.

The number of misdemeanor cases rose to 40 percent in 1998, 62 percent in 1999, 63 percent in 2000 and 70 percent in 2001, according to statistics kept by the court.

The pendulum swung the other way in 2002 and 2003. The percentage of traffic cases vs. criminal cases reflected 1997's statistics.

Sutliff said the 70 percent to 30 percent split of traffic to criminal cases is more of the norm. She said since 2002 the jurisdiction of many misdemeanor cases was properly switched to state court.

But Larson said there are still plenty of people who come into Justice Court who are upset over a traffic ticket or a divorce proceeding.

"It's scary. You don't know what they might do," she said. "We've definitely had some irate people."

Although she cannot recall a time when a clerk was specifically threatened, she said there has been yelling and people have leaned over the counter into the clerks' faces. "It just takes one (to cause a tragedy). That's the one I want to stop," she said.

A violent incident has never occurred inside a courtroom in Justice Court, Sutliff said. She did recall a case where someone threw a pencil at a judge.

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