Court limits access

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

With limited exceptions, the Mahoning County Common Pleas Court judges have ordered immediate cancellation of all after-hours and side- and rear-door electronic access cards to the county courthouse.

The judges did not refer to any recent incidents or specific problems related to their order, nor did they specify the number of cards to be canceled, but they said the widespread issuance of access cards “raises security concerns.”

With limited exceptions, everyone must enter and exit the courthouse through the main entrance on Market Street, where deputy sheriffs screen people and baggage entering the building, and only during regular business hours, the judges ruled in a Thursday judgment entry.

Only the entry cards carried by judges, a mediator, the court administrator, and facilities management and sheriff’s department personnel will remain valid, the judges ruled.

Others who think they need alternate door or after-hours access cards must apply anew to Sgt. Thomas DeGenova, chief of courthouse security.