At courthouse, use front door only, judges say

YOUNGSTOWN — Security is being tightened at the Mahoning County Courthouse.

As of Monday, all electronic swipe cards county employees use to enter via side and rear courthouse doors will be canceled, and everyone must enter and leave the building via the Market Street entrance, according to an order signed by all eight county common pleas judges.

The Market Street entrance is the public entrance, where county deputy sheriffs screen everyone entering the building for weapons by using a metal detector and baggage scanner.

“Because of the fact that 182 access cards are presently active, a concern for proper security exists,” the judges wrote in the judgment entry filed Tuesday with the clerk of courts.

Anyone who desires swipe card access in the future must submit a written request to Judge John M. Durkin, presiding judge, who will consult with the sheriff’s department before such requests are approved or denied on a case-by-case basis, the order said.

The Ohio Supreme Court is now revising its rules of superintendence for the state’s courts, primarily to address security issues. Based on the proposed revisions, the century-old courthouse here will undergo a complete security assessment, the judges said.

Judge Durkin and Judge R. Scott Krichbaum, administrative judge, could not be reached Tuesday afternoon to comment about the order.