TexasCHLforum.com

txcharvel wrote:Response from County Sheriff's office

SNIP



Awaiting next response...I'll admit, I do find this fun.

SewTexas wrote:so far no one has explained why a camera phone would or should be banned from a court HOUSE. I totally understand a judge banning it from a court ROOM, ie: family court, juvi court ect....all of those have to do with a ROOM, nothing to do with the court HOUSE....there are other things that happen in a court HOUSE, business papers are filed, people are married, ect....maybe I NEED something that is stored on my phone while I am filling out that paper.

SewTexas wrote:I don't see how a cell phone with a camera can be banned from a building, from a courtROOM sure, but not from the building itself. that's simply nuts.

bulinm wrote:Don't get me started........The fact that I can't walk into the courthouse carrying a pocketknife
is the most ridiculous thing I can imagine. We should be able to carry our firearms also, of course.
Nobody I know is dumb enough to shoot a lawyer - that's the quickest way to Huntsville.

txcharvel wrote:

texanjoker wrote:Courts don't allow weapons and a knife can be a weapon. That is why they also run everybody's belongings through the metal detectors and such. They probably have to argue with 50 people a day about pocket knives and it probably gets old. I know I laughed at them 2 weeks ago when I went armed in uniform to have a warrant signed. They wanted to see my ID. I've never been asked for ID in uniform before, but their house their rules.

I read regs every day as part of my business (environmental professional) and know how to interpret them. The regs on this matter are very specific. My type of knife is defined but is not prohibited from a courthouse or polling place. If I'm reading the right section, which I'm certain I am, then they were wrong to keep me from entering the courthouse. I've already sent my complaint to the Sheriff's office via their online form. I'm thinking I should probably follow up with a written letter as well.

I'm surprised by the amount of posts from folks that assume a courthouse or local jurisdiction can simply make up and enforce a rule or policy that goes against written law. This is one way that our rights are slowly eroded away. Asking for ID to make sure a uniformed officer is who he claims to be seems justified. I was not breaking any law and was denied entry. If you were pulled over and an officer told you it was their department's policy to search the car of every CHL holder, would you comply?

And no, I did not go back to the courthouse. I stopped on my way home and voted at an early voting location.

txcharvel wrote:

The pocket knife referenced in the OP is not a prohinited weapon, nor were they saying it was prohibited under law to carry it there. It is their rule, and they are free to enforce it.

The courthouse ban on knives has nothing with the legality of the knife. They just don't allow them.

To clarify, the deputies specifically said that under Texas Penal Code my knife was not allowed to be carried into the building. They also referred to a sign banning weapons "according to Texas Penal Code".

Plus, they can't have a rule to simply "not allow" something. It is a public building, if it not specifically illegal then it's considered legal. That is how our laws are written. My particular knife is defined in the law, but that same knife is not listed as a prohibited weapon. Therefore it is not prohibited.

txnative1951 wrote:

tbrown wrote:What law says they have to allow pocket knives? There's no state preemption for blades in Texas AFAIK.

That's not how the law works. If something is not listed as being illegal, it defaults to be legal. Now, the problem is that the legislators have created so many unnecessary laws throughout history that sometimes you need to create a law that allows something because some idiot previously mistakenly created a law that prohibited something. For example, in some states, Open Carry is legal because there is no legislation that prohibits it. Unfortunately, some laws are vague enough that law enforcement will use them for situations where they were not originally intended.

txcharvel wrote:

tbrown wrote:I don't see anything in there that makes it illegal to carry a pocket knife in a courthouse but I also don't see anything that makes it illegal for the courthouse to prohibit pocket knives and use metal detectors to enforce their policy.

Private entities can make and enforce policy, but the courthouse can't make up their own rules. They have to follow the law, it's a public building.