Fulton County Courthouse

• Security Still at Issue at Courthouse Fulton County Waits for Repairs

ATLANTA - Months after a shooting rampage left three dead at the Fulton County Courthouse, exasperated judges said security cameras still haven't been plugged in and faulty doors have yet to be replaced. A task force charged with making security recommendations after the shooting also said Friday the number of sworn officers assigned to the courthouse must be increased by roughly a third to secure the downtown Atlanta building.

• Augusta Chronicle, The
• September 22, 2005

• Plea-Deal Collapse Blamed for Shooting: ; Lawyer: Victimized D.A.S Office Cant Be Objective in Atlanta Courthouse-Killings Trial

ATLANTA - A courthouse shooting spree that left a judge and three others dead could have been avoided if a plea deal tentatively reached weeks earlier in the accused gunman's rape case had not fallen through, a defense lawyer said Monday. Brian Nichols' lawyer in the rape case, Barry Hazen, said he is "100 percent confident" the March 11 rampage at the Fulton County Courthouse would not have happened had the plea deal gone through during a mid-February hearing.

• Charleston Gazette
• November 22, 2005

• Fulton County Officials Say Courthouse Is Safer

ATLANTA - Fulton County authorities say security improvements have been made to the county courthouse where a judge and a court reporter were fatally six months ago. County officials said security has improved despite claims by judges and others, including a security commission formed by Sheriff Myron Freeman, that little has changed to improve safety at the courthouse.

• Augusta Chronicle, The
• September 29, 2005

• Houston Faces Mansion Foreclosure

[Whitney Houston] no longer has the suburban Atlanta home she shared with Bobby Brown, according to a published report. The five-bedroom Alpharetta home went into foreclosure this fall and was sold on the steps of the Fulton County Courthouse earlier this month, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

• Sentinel; Los Angeles, Calif.
• August 13, 2009

• Atlanta Courthouse Reopens

ATLANTA -- Nervous workers and visitors lined up Monday as the Fulton County Courthouse reopened under heightened security in the wake of the slayings of a judge, deputy and court reporter three days earlier. As the courthouse reopened at 8:30 a.m. Monday -- almost exactly 72 hours since the shootings -- at least 80 people waited in line to get past a security checkpoint set up inside the building. The line snaked down a hallway near the entrance.

• Deseret News (Salt Lake City)
• March 15, 2005

• Lawyers Want Evidence Saved in Nichols Trial

ATLANTA - Lawyers for a man accused of killing a judge and three others want evidence preserved after they learned the courtroom where the shooting spree started was cleaned before they had a chance to view it. New ceiling tiles and carpet have been put in and bloodstained furniture has been cleaned in courtroom 8H at Fulton County Courthouse.

• Augusta Chronicle, The
• September 13, 2005

• Fire Starts in Callaway Courtroom with No Smoke Detectors

A fire yesterday in a courtroom with no smoke detectors has officials re-evaluating fire-safety policies at the Callaway County Courthouse in Fulton. The 9 a.m. fire yesterday went nearly undetected at the courthouse, 10 E. Fifth St., because of the lack of a smoke detector in the third-floor grand courtroom, where particle board was found smoldering. Prosecuting Attorney Robert Sterner was working in the courthouse and smelled smoke.

• Columbia Daily Tribune
• July 28, 2010

• Security Work at Courthouse a Needed Step

This editorial appears in the March 16, 2011, Yakima Herald- Republic. In 2005, a defendant standing trial for rape pulled a gun in the courthouse in Fulton County, Ga., and killed a judge, court reporter and sheriff's deputy. Last year in Las Vegas, a man who lost a Social Security claim opened fire with a shotgun in a federal courthouse, killing a court security officer.

• Yakima Herald-Republic
• March 18, 2011

• Senate Panel Discusses Security State, County Buildings Are Not Safe, Some Say

MOULTRIE, Ga. - The Fulton County Courthouse shootings raised concerns across the state about potential security problems at other state and county buildings. But for many rural counties, a limiting factor could be the amount county commissioners and taxpayers are willing to pay for video surveillance gear, metal detectors and for the deputies who would have to operate the equipment.

• Augusta Chronicle, The
• July 26, 2005

• Funding Cuts May Put Trials in Delay

The decision by Georgia legislators to cut funding statewide for local public defender programs could affect death penalty cases in Augusta. Budget problems already have delayed the prosecution of Brian Nichols, the man accused of being the Fulton County courthouse killer. Defense costs in his case - more than $1.4 million before the trial has even begun - outraged lawmakers earlier this year.

• Augusta Chronicle, The
• August 08, 2007