Woodbury courthouse security takes new turn

SIOUX CITY - Woodbury County District Judge Duane Hoffmeyer issued an administrative order last week banning guns in the county courthouse - overruling a recent Board of Supervisors decision allowing the public to carry guns into the building.

Woodbury County supervisors said they had taken the action in an attempt to comply with a new state law that broadens gun rights in Iowa.

Supervisors in Johnson and Linn counties have not taken the step that their northwest Iowa colleagues did, and courthouse gun bans in Iowa City and Cedar Rapids has been enforced despite the state law.

A 10-page order signed July 31 prohibits the carrying of weapons in the Woodbury County Courthouse, Law Enforcement Center and the second floor of the Trosper Hoyt Building, which holds Juvenile Court Services.

The order by Hoffmeyer, the chief judge of Iowa's Third Judicial District, comes after a series of controversial machinations between the Woodbury Board of Supervisors and Sheriff Dave Drew in the wake of the new expanded gun rights law and an Iowa Supreme Court order that says no guns should be brought by people to court-controlled areas.

' ... The purpose of this Administrative Order is to provide a safe place for resolving disputes and deterring incidents of violence when firearms are on or in close proximity to individuals or employees who may wish to cause harm,” Hoffmeyer wrote. 'Allowing guns or weapons increases the likelihood that a violent or disgruntled employee or individual affected by the court system will have access to a firearm while at work or at the courthouse and prevent the judicial branch/Sheriff from adequately controlling the safety of other employees and customers.”

In June, the majority of supervisors voted to rescind a previous ban on weapons on county property, including the courthouse, to follow the April state law.

However, Drew told the supervisors he would follow the Iowa Supreme Court order that instituted a statewide ban of weapons in all courthouses and court-controlled areas by people other than law enforcement.

Drew said he sought personal legal counsel to ensure he was on solid ground for his position on acting contrary to the supervisors' decision.

'The sheriff is responsible for carrying out all court orders,” Drew told the Journal. 'We will continue ... in this direction.”

The weapon restrictions will be enforced during the county's normal work hours or 'whenever a jury completed deliberations for the day.” Items that are brought as evidence for trial are exempt. Anyone that knowingly violates the provision may be charged with contempt of court, criminal trespass or interference with official acts, the order says.

County Board Chairman Matthew Ung said Hoffmeyer's order is 'troubling.”

'It's even more of an overreach than the Supreme Court order. I think the fact that it goes so far to order the sheriff to disarm fellow law enforcement officers with a valid identification sends a stupendously bad message to the community,” Ung said. 'It also discourages employees to lawfully carry. With all the issues we have to worry about in this world, fearing our own employees and our own off-duty officers is very misguided and more of an overreach.'