SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — Seminole County wanted to install a fence with razor wire around the judges' parking lot at the courthouse in Sanford. However, Sanford leaders said they didn't want an inch of razor wire in the middle of their downtown.
One commissioner said there was concern that a big fence there wouldn't project a good image for the city. After all, it's just one block from a strip the city has put lots of effort and money into cleaning up.
For now, the reserved parking behind Seminole County's civil courthouse looks like any public lot, wide open and unprotected, but the county wanted to change that, turning the empty land nearby into a judges-only lot that might've looked more like a fortress in the middle of downtown.
"Have I ever been assaulted or anything like that to and from the courthouse? No," Seminole County Circuit Court Judge Michael Rudisill said.
Judge Rudisill parks there each day. He believes the family court cases decided there often involve even more emotion and potential danger to judges than criminal cases.
"We deal with a lot of very highly-contentious issues here over at this courthouse," he said.
The county proposed razor wire atop ten-foot tall chain link fencing, with the primary goal of keeping judges safe. But the city's zoning doesn't allow for more than a four-foot high, decorative fence there.
Many in Sanford just couldn't accept how the fencing and razor wire would look or the message it might send in touristy downtown.
Carol Avant and Donna Naikus work across from the courthouse and have witnessed problems with the area's aggressive homeless population.
"I don't love the idea of seeing that every day, but if that's what has to be done, it has to be done," Naikus said.
"It's paramount that we protect our judges. When they make decisions, a lot of time they're threatened," Avant said.
Now the county is looking at alternative options for the judges' lot, which will satisfy aesthetic and security concerns. The county shows there is no local threat prompting increased security; it is a response to broader nationwide concerns.
WFTV
