Now this is the way to lobby for a new courthouse facility
I am posting this in response to your December 15, 2013 editorial Oconee County Commissioners Hold Closed Meeting And Tour To Discuss Courthouse Facilities
The editorial is incomplete when it comes to the factual basis for closing the meeting to the general public. You may recall that during Judge Sweat’s presentation on November 26, 2013, that the members of the Board of Commissioners and the public that attended that meeting were reminded that Georgia law requires that a survey be conducted every four years of the security plan for the courthouse. That security plan must be, by law, prepared by the Sheriff and presented to the Chief Judge for approval and the county commissioners for funding.
For legal reference I will refer you to OCGA 15-16-10 (10) and 15-16-10 (b). The history behind the legislation is rather straightforward. Following the murderous rampage of Brian Nichols at the Fulton County Courthouse some years ago, the legislature amended the law ordering the security surveys of each and every courthouse in Georgia.
Implementation of the new law led to a minimal State stipend of funding to the Georgia Sheriff’s Association to come up with minimum standards for courthouse security throughout the state, in much the same way the GSA provides standards for each of the 145 or so jails across the state. The Association of County Commissioners and the Georgia Sheriffs Association, in conjunction with the U.S. Marshal’s Office and the National Sheriff’s Association developed over time a lengthy set of standards that are used to evaluate the security plan and physical plant of each courthouse.
Simply put, the Oconee County Courthouse has previously failed to meet standards and continues to fail to meet standards based on the architecture and design of the existing building. The current building will never meet standards, it wasn’t built, designed, or intended to meet these standards. In fact, our courthouse meets less than 50% of the applicable standards for safety and security of the employees, witnesses, jurors, visitors and parties that have business to conduct inside the courthouse.
You will note that under OCGA 15-16-10 (10) there is specific and direct language exempting the security plan from the Open Records Act and Meeting statutes OCGA 50-14-3. That includes specially exemption from discussions surrounding the security plan I think the Chairman was legally bound to keep the general public and media away from the discussions surrounding the security plan. I know you also will make note of the fact that the penalty for violating the law in this regard can be contempt of court as well as removal from office.
I hope you find this information helpful in fleshing out your editorial on this issue as far as the factual basis for conducting the survey and the legality of closing the meeting to the public.
Sheriff Scott Berry
Oconee County Georgia
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