Judge questions safety at Family Court

By Jim Faile

Published: October 10, 2008

DARLINGTON — A state Family Court judge Monday told Darlington County Council he has some concerns about the safety of court personnel and the general public in the Family Court facility in the Darlington County Courthouse.

Fourth Circuit Family Court Judge Jamie Lee Murdock Jr. of Hartsville asked council to consider making some changes to the third-floor facility to make it safer and provide additional space that would make it easier to keep parties involved in disputes before the court separate.

Murdock said his concerns sprang from a fight that occurred in the third-floor family court facility on July 8.

The incident began as a confrontation in a waiting room and quickly spilled out into the hallway, Murdock said. A sheriff’s deputy attempted to break up the fight but soon found himself on the floor struggling with the individuals involved, he said.

Two lawyers were in the nearby courtroom along with a court employee when the incident occurred, according to Murdock.

He said the two lawyers were particularly concerned that the people with whom the deputy was struggling might get his gun in the altercation.

Murdock said he was not present when the fight occurred. He said law enforcement and security officials managed to get things under control. Three individuals involved were arrested at the time of the incident and a fourth was later arrested and charged with telephone harassment stemming from the incident, Murdock said.

He said one of the attorneys present went into the waiting room to check on his client after the incident and found her sobbing.

“That caused me some concerns about the safety of the general public and my staff,” Murdock said.

On that particular day, opposing parties were in the same waiting room because another waiting room was being used to hold juveniles, he said. “We try to separate plaintiffs and defendants,” he said, but added that is not always possible because of the lack of space.

He said later when he tried to leave the courtroom to go to the restroom, the two lawyers would not let him leave out of concern for his safety. There is no private restroom for judges on the floor, only public restrooms, he said.

County Administrator Phyllis Griffitts said the county is working on installing a private restroom for judges in the facility.

Another confrontation occurred in the waiting room in the facility on Monday when a woman slapped a man, Murdock said. Deputies quickly brought that situation under control, he said.

Murdock said one problem is that the facility does not have a place where attorneys can meet privately with clients. He suggested that another room could be redesigned to provide a conference area.