Courthouse
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223217215
2008-07-03T02:42:01Z
75.47.151.81
[[WP:UNDO|Undid]] revision 223045838 by [[Special:Contributions/75.47.139.146|75.47.139.146]] ([[User talk:75.47.139.146|talk]])
:''For the [[Arlington County, Virginia|Arlington, Virginia]] neighborhood, see [[Courthouse, Virginia]]''
A '''courthouse''' (sometimes spelled '''court house''') is a building that is home to a local [[court]] of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In some other English speaking countries buildings which house courts are simply called "courts".
== United States ==
In most [[County (United States)|counties]] in the [[United States]], the local [[trial court]]s conduct their business in a centrally located courthouse which may also house county governmental offices. The courthouse is usually located in the [[county seat]], although large metropolitan counties may have satellite or annex offices for their courts.
In some cases this building may be renamed in some way or its function divided as between a judicial building and administrative office building. Many judges also [[officiate]] at civil marriage ceremonies in their courthouse chambers. In some places, the courthouse also contains the main administrative office for the county government, or when a new courthouse is constructed, the old one will be used for other local government offices.
Each [[United States district court]] also has a federally owned building where its courtrooms, chambers and clerk's offices are located. Many federal judicial districts are further divided into divisions, which may also have their own courthouses, although sometimes the smaller divisional court facilities are located in buildings that also house other agencies or offices of the United States government. There is even a [http://www.dalmdad.com/y-ch.html US District Court in Yosemite National Park.]
The courthouse is part of the iconography of American life and is equivalent to the city hall as the symbol of the municipium in European free cities, then often shown in American [[film|cinema]] (recently in "[[Peyton Place (TV series)|Peyton Place]]" or "[[Back to the Future]]"). They range from small-town rural buildings with a few rooms to huge metropolitan courthouses that take up large plots of land. The style of [[American architecture]] used varies, with common styles including [[Federal style architecture|federal]], [[Greek Revival]], [[neoclassicism|neoclassicist]], and [[modern architecture|modern]].
Due to concerns over potential violence, many courthouses in American cities often have security checkpoints where all incoming persons are searched for weapons, normally through the use of an X-ray machine for all bags and a walk-through metal detector, much like those found at airports.
For example, the Los Angeles Superior Court added such checkpoints to all entrances to its main courthouse in [[Downtown Los Angeles]] after a woman was shot and killed by her ex-husband in open court in September 1995.<ref>Kenneth Ofgang, [http://www.metnews.com/articles/zeli052102.htm "State High Court Bars Suit Over Shooting at Downtown Courthouse: Unanimous Opinion Written by Chief Justice George Says County Had No Duty to Screen for Weapons,"] ''Metropolitan News-Enterprise'', May 21, 2002, 1.</ref> The [[Supreme Court of California]] ruled in 2002 that Los Angeles County (which at the time was responsible for maintaining the courthouses) was not liable to her three children under the California Government Tort Claims Act.<ref>''Ibid.'', see also ''Zelig v. County of Los Angeles'' [http://online.ceb.com/calcases/C4/27C4t1112.htm 27 Cal. 4th 1112] (2002).</ref>
After the [[Oklahoma City bombing]], the federal government proceeded to heavily fortify all large federal buildings, including many urban courthouses.
Some courthouses in areas with high levels of [[violent crime]] have redundant layers of security. For example, when the California Supreme Court hears oral arguments at its branch courtroom in [[Los Angeles]], visitors must pass through one security checkpoint to enter the building, and another to enter the courtroom.
<gallery>
Image:Orange county court house vt.jpg|[[Orange County, Vermont]] courthouse
Image:Pensacolauscourthouse.jpg|United States Courthouse, [[Pensacola, Florida]]
Image:Lasvegascourthouse.jpg|Federal Courthouse, [[Las Vegas, Nevada]]
Image:LaFayetteAlabama4.JPG|The [[Chambers County, Alabama|Chambers County]] Courthouse in [[La Fayette, Alabama]]
Image:DeKalb County IN Court House.jpg|DeKalb County Court House, [[Auburn, Indiana]]
Image:CabellCountyWVCH.jpg|Cabell County Court House in [[Huntington, West Virginia]]
Image:Side view of Lowndes County Courthouse.JPG|Lowndes County Courthouse in [[Valdosta, Georgia]]
Image:Muscatine Court House.JPG|Muscatine County Courthouse in [[Muscatine, Iowa]]
</gallery>
== Canada ==
In [[Canada]] each municipality constructs its own courthouse, or several in the case of large cities. In smaller communities the court is in the same building as the [[city hall]] and other municipal offices. In the past many courthouses also included the local prison.
<gallery>
Image:Kings County Museum.JPG|[[Kings County Museum|Kings County Courthouse]], [[Kentville, Nova Scotia]]
Image:Halifax Court House.JPG|[[Halifax Court House]] in [[Halifax Regional Municipality|Halifax]], [[Nova Scotia]]
Image:Supreme Court of Canada.jpg|The [[Supreme Court of Canada]] in [[Ottawa]]
</gallery>
== References ==
<references/>
== See also ==
{{commons|Courthouse}}
* [[Court]]
* [[Appomattox Court House]]
== External links ==
* [http://www.dalmdad.com/ch-index.html Courthouse Pictures From Around the United States]
* [http://dale-miller.com/uscc/statetable.pl U.S. county courthouses by state]
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