Las Vegas Court Marshals Restrain Reporters To Keep Jackson's MD "Safe"

You see, I told you Las Vegas gets their Bailiffs (I mean Marshals) involved in improper actions (at least in my opinion), just like Phoenix. This week, Dr. Murray (of the Michael Jackson drug saga) was in Las Vegas Court, Family Division, regarding some issues about paying child support to a California woman & child (evidently his child). Given his recent notoriety, Dr. Murray's little family matter brought national attention to the courthouse that is quite familiar with media activity, during celebrity divorces. Only days after I told you that Las Vegas should take at look at the Phoenix Deputy because of his intimate fondling of a defense attorney's private file, Brian Haynes of the Review Journal was on the scene and reports that,

"After the hearing, Murray and his entourage were allowed to leave the courtroom while bailiffs held about a dozen reporters inside against their will for 'public safety' reasons," Haynes writes. "The bailiffs released the reporters after Murray left the building several minutes later."

(LVRJ)

Ken Ritter of the Associated Press also reported that,

"Senior Clark County District Judge Gerald Hardcastle had left the bench when an armed, uniformed court marshal, Dennis Curran, politely declined several requests by journalists to let them leave. Curran said he was following orders. His supervisor, Sgt. Steve Rushfield, did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment."

Even Michael Sommermeyer, the Clark County courts spokesman, was detained. Sommermeyer later mentioned that had had no idea why they blocked the exit to the courtroom, maybe to maintain safety and decorum. (LVRJ) Nice 'dodge' WordyMouth, I didn't see this event on Twitter (@wordymouth, @lvcourts); probably smart on your part.

"They're police officers," Sommermeyer did say. "I guess they can deem what is necessary for public safety." (LVRJ) Michael, we at Legally UnBound love you (see HERE), but "public safety"? I'm not saying you should have thought of something more creative, I'm just saying maybe you could have come up with something a little sillier in order to jab the 'keepers of the peace' in divorce court, unless of course you are thinking of getting a divorce any time soon.

Let me be the first to call it, before they start performing cavity searches at the LV Justice Center in the name of "public safety", we should consider getting a handle on their authority.

Except for JAmbo (Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009 at 12:54 PM), a commenter on Thomas Mitchell's LVRJ Blog. JAmbo says, "Freedom of the of the press? i like it, but people should also have freedom of privacy." (emphasis added). JAmbo should definitely get a cavity search at the LV Justice Center, so he knows what 'freedom of privacy' really means.

UPDATE (11:57AM): For the second time in the last month, a Metro Officer shot at a perpetrator while the 'perp' was running away. (1st time & 2nd time). For those that have no sense of direction, that is call "shooting in the back". This time, though, no one was shot and the alleged "he pulled a gun" turned in to, "he made a threatening gesture". HE WAS RUNNING AWAY! There can't be anything LESS threatening.

See Simple Justice today for another story (Remy Meets His Fate) of the police stopping and harassing an attorney, when the attorney doesn't do exactly what the cop wants.
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