Last Updated on October 27, 2023 by Cass County Government Building Director of Security
The following information was shared on the Cass County Sheriff’s Department’s Facebook page:
LOGANSPORT – Cass County announced new security measures and parking for the Cass County Government Building in downtown Logansport, including new rules for cell phones in the building and courtrooms.
New rules for cell phones allow them in the building but not in the courtrooms.
Additionally, the All Saints parking lot at Third and Broadway is now available for use by the public during business hours of the Cass County Government Building. For more information, contact Cass County Director of Security Lt. Dale Campbell at 574-753-7807.
“The issue with cell phones in the building was a legal one,” said Jeff Stanton, the attorney for Cass County. “Our circumstances in Cass County are not uncommon, but it is not the rule that a county’s government offices are in the same building as the county courts. We always had the problem of trying to hold public meetings in a building where cell phones were banned, but then we had new laws requiring that cell phones be allowed in the government offices, while they are still not allowed by law in the courtrooms.”
Lt. Campbell reiterated that the public must still pass through security before admission to the building, but rather than collecting cell phones, security is now directing people who are headed to court to the new lock boxes that have been installed outside the courtrooms.
“The lock boxes are self-service for the public; they work like a gun safe or hotel safe. You choose your own password, leave your phone in the box and take it when you leave. Only you know your password.”
He added, “this also reduces our liabilities with the public’s phones; we’re not touching them anymore.”
Stanton specified that the phones are only allowed in public areas:
“The government offices still have areas that are not open to the public for confidentiality reasons; you still can only use the phones in public areas. And never in the courtroom.”
There are new rules in Indiana allowing the use of recording devices in Indiana courtrooms, but these are only for members of the press. The rules do not include members of the public.
According to Circuit Court Judge Stephen Roger Kitts II, “First of all there are definitions and standards for who qualifies as an actual member of the press. Second of all, members of the press have to make a request to record a hearing in writing, in advance of the hearing. Then the Judge has to grant the request, in writing. This is still basically discretionary; the Judge can always say ‘no’ and the Judge can always stop any recordings in progress based on the circumstances in the courtroom.”
Asked why the press could be allowed when there is a ban for the public, Judge Kitts said the answer was, again, legal:
“Actual members of the press understand there are rules about what can be filmed and what can’t. You can’t take pictures of the attorneys’ tables, for example; it could contain confidential informatoin. Taking pictures of jurors is a security breach. We cannot allow this.”
Lt. Cambell said that one of the duties of law enforcement in the courtroom is to watch for violations of this rule.
“If we catch it, we have to notify the Judge,” he said.
Stanton said that the judges’ response to violations is discretionary for them, but it could include finding the cell phone owner in contempt of court, which could result in the phone being seized or the person going to jail.
“Let’s just say that the judges would prefer not to go there,” said Judge Kitts.
SOURCE: News release from Cass County Government Building Director of Security
