More Judges Arming Up Following Recent Uptick In Violence Around Courthouses

By Tom Knighton

The attempt on the life of Steubenville, OH Judge Joseph Bruzzese, Jr. may seem like an isolated even, but courthouses have been home to violence before. Just weeks earlier, an inmate stole a sheriff’s deputy’s weapon, killing the deputy and another officer before fleeing and eventually taking his own life.

Incidents like this are disconcerting to those who work in courthouses, to be sure, but it’s probably most disconcerting to those who are the most likely targets of violence: The judges themselves.

It seems that Judge Bruzzese wasn’t an anomaly in one other way. More and more judges are apparently arming themselves.

As violence inside and near courthouses grows, judges increasingly are choosing to carry concealed weapons, experts say.

Judge Eugene Lucci, who presides over cases in an Ohio county courthouse and sits on the board of the American Judges Association, says there’s a clear concern among his colleagues in the judicial world about safety.

Lucci, who delivers talks to judges about protecting themselves, says he’s seen an unmistakable interest in carrying concealed firearms.

“Based on the number of requests that I get to speak on the topic, there’s definitely an uptick in interest by judges,” Lucci said, adding that while judges …Read the Rest

Source:: Bearing Arms