The President’s decision to surge federal police and National Guard troops in the nation’s capital is reducing the number of available U.S. Marshals who are tasked with providing courtroom security in DC Superior Court
While arrests by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) are up 28 percent during the federal deployment to more than 2,500 from about 1,900 during the same period last year, the number of security personnel inside courtrooms at the DC Superior Courthouse protecting staff and the public has wavered.
Based on observations over the last week by D.C. Witness reporters, who monitor felony proceedings daily, a typical security complement includes two-to-three U.S. Marshals and one District Security Officer (DSO).
A public affairs spokesman for the marshals says courtroom security has not been compromised during the surge but acknowledges that some non-deputy personnel have been called in as necessary back up. The DC Superior Court spokesman said the security situation in the building is no different than it was pre-deployment. However, D.C. Witness has tracked a reduction.
Checking felony courtrooms on Sept. 8, Reginald Steele is on trial before DC Superior Court Judge Rainey Brandt for the gang-related fatal shooting of 13-year-old Malachi Lukes on March 1, 2020.
D.C. Witness only observed one U.S. Marshal and a single lower-level DSO standing guard in the courtroom.
Meanwhile, DC Superior Court Judge Michael Ryan heard another gang-related homicide case. Only one marshal was providing security there along with one DSO.
In DC Superior Court Judge Judith Pipe’s courtroom, D.C. Witness covered three felony proceedings–one involved the shooting of the suspect’s ex-stepfather. The other two matters were carjackings with the defendants’ entering a plea agreement. There were two marshals present, but no DSOs.
Two serious shooting cases came before DC Superior Court Judge Deborah Israel, but no U.S. Marshals, and only two DSOs, were protecting her courtroom.
A source familiar with DC Superior Court Judge Errol Arthur’s docket says the courtroom typically has one or two marshals on duty but last week they averaged just one.
On the other hand, a source working with DC Superior Court Judge Jennifer DiToro says the number of security personnel there has remained steady during the federal troop surge.
The courtrooms don’t look that different to Todd Baldwin who heads the Superior Court Trial Lawyers Association. “No, I haven’t really noticed that. But I haven’t been really looking either,” says Baldwin whose group handles most indigent clients facing criminal prosecution.
While the reduction noticed by D.C. Witness seems tied to the surge, another courthouse source who represents both felony and misdemeanor clients, has been plagued by a personnel shortage in recent years. According to the source, priority is given to felony cases over misdemeanor cases, resulting in the latter being delayed.
There have been no significant breaches of DC Superior Court security that have been reported since the surge. However, courtrooms can be very emotional environments and violent outbursts are not uncommon and frequently handled by security personnel.
