While the battle continues over overcrowding at the DeKalb County Jail and the fight over whether to build a new Justice Center or jail expansion, some are calling for immediate changes at the DeKalb County Courthouse, prompting one office to request a move, and other requesting more security.

During Last Thursday’s Public Works Committee meeting, members discussed requests for tightening security at the courthouse, proposed by General Sessions and Juvenile Court Judge Brandon Cox.

Judge Cox was not in attendance at the meeting, but he has met with the budget committee twice within the last 16 months addressing the issue. Four months ago, Judge Cox requested enhanced security in the courthouse to include, establishing one main entrance with a full-time security officer, and a screening station where the public would enter the building. All other outside doors to the courthouse would be locked to prevent entry by the public.

At the meeting, County Mayor Matt Adcock stated, “I have talked to Brandon and he is really pushing that we implement some measures to have better courthouse security. He is very insistent. He came to me and said I am not going to have court over here anymore until you have one entrance. I told him we need to wait until we talk to Dustin Estes (Administrator of Elections) about this law (preventing armed officers near voter polling places). I also told him that we need to wait until after this election in November. He said we can do things today so that is what started us to where we are at,” said County Mayor Adcock.

As a result, Administrator of Elections Dustin Estes was also in attendance to formally request that the Election Commission office eventually be moved to vacant space at the County Complex.

“I am here on behalf of the DeKalb County Election Commission to formally request to move our offices from the courthouse to the complex,” said Estes. “Why make this move? There is a strong effort to lock down the courthouse to a single point entrance with security screenings, but that does not work for the type of traffic we have to our office especially during early voting times.”

“We are also outgrowing our limited office space at the courthouse, occupying shared space including the lower court room, which we use for early voting and for our trainings, meetings, etc. Further, parking is limited around the courthouse and voters have to compete for parking especially during days of court.”

“We want to have enough space to function properly and provide better accessibility and a more conducive work environment. We also want to keep our offices in close proximity to where early voting occurs in case there are any potential issues with voters should they need to update their addresses, etc.” explained Estes.

Administrator Estes said the committee needs take into consideration that the November election is on the way. “I understand security is very important with court being held here and security is the biggest push to get our (election commission) office moved from the courthouse to the county complex. But I want you to evaluate your decision, keeping in mind that we have a November presidential election coming up with possibly two referendums on the ballot. We are going to have a huge voter turnout and an unusual amount of traffic to register, update addresses, etc. I understand security and I am not bashing the idea. I think it’s very important because bad things can happen, but also consider your decisions and how they can impact other offices while we are here,” added Estes.

Judge Cox later stated to the media, “First, the reason I had a renewed push for security is the incident that occurred at the Monroe County Justice Center wherein a man armed with a semi-automatic rifle entered the premises and began shooting. Fortunately, Monroe County had security and the man was stopped before he hurt anyone. That would not have happened in DeKalb. That man would have had free run of the courthouse until police arrived on scene.”

“Next, I have no desire to interfere with the election and have advocated no policy that would affect their business. The discussions I have had included allowing for the first-floor entrance to be unlocked for early voting,” he said.

“Additionally, as you note in this article, I suggested the main entrance would be on the East side of the courthouse, and therefore, there would be no “armed security” by the polling site. Tennessee Code Annotated 2-7-103 only prohibits law enforcement from being within 10 feet of the entrance unless called in for emergency or to vote. The East entrance is not within 10 feet and it has a ramp for handicap access,” Judge Cox explained.

“I have suggested that it is getting to a point where I’m not going to hold court unless the building is secured. This is less for my safety than it is for the safety of all the county employees and public present at the courthouse. When I’m on the bench, there are typically four deputies on the third floor. The other floors are left insecure and anyone can walk in the building,” he said

“I am glad to hear that there is movement to address this issue as I’ve been requesting the same since 2022. And I’m also pleased that the election commission may be getting adequate space at the complex. That helps for security purposes but also can free up some space for the initiatives we’re working on in juvenile court, safe baby court and recovery court,” said Judge Cox.

“Court business is necessarily adversarial. People fight over property, children, and their freedom in that building. And a great number of folks are not happy with decisions I or the other judges make. On top of all that we have a significant mental health crisis in our community. With that as the backdrop, it is absurd to ask county employees that work at the courthouse to “hold tight” and hope nothing happens until after the election. We have the capacity to make common-sense, cost-effective changes to address this issue now,” Judge Cox concluded.

County Mayor Adcock told the public works committee that several options for better courthouse security have been considered. “Brandon and I got together and combined some thoughts on things we could do now and in the future. We even talked about key cards for the doors. I ventured into looking at the costs on what some of that would be and it was crazy ridiculous, like $2,800 a door and that doesn’t count the system, wiring and all the rest that comes with it. We would be looking at probably $12,000 to $15,000 just for that. All the employees have keys anyway so I don’t think we even need key cards.”

Committee member Mathias Anderson inquired about getting a security company to handle security at the courthouse. “I make a motion that we get some estimates from a reputable company. I think it (armed security) needs to be done sooner than later, even on court days. It’s dangerous because this is a government building with government officials. Just because court is not in session doesn’t mean there is not a threat level.”

The committee approved Anderson’s motion.