The courthouse in Hillsboro may finally get another jury-capable courtroom, using savings from energy improvements. The county received a $1.9 million energy conservation block grant to make energy improvements to county buildings. Many of those improvements would be at the courthouse.

At the court en banc meeting on Monday, Circuit Judge Gary Kramer (pictured) of the Facilities Improvement Committee, suggested the circuit court use the savings to renovate the old juvenile division offices into a courtroom with office space.

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As a Tulsa attorney appealing a case from the Northern District of Oklahoma, I was summoned to Denver to give oral argument, an abbreviated presentation of the case, but which can have stressful overtones. Imagine showing up for a final ...

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Nearly 17 years ago, Kenneth Baumruk shot and killed his wife in a St. Louis County courtroom during a divorce hearing. On Tuesday, the Missouri Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and death sentence imposed after Baumruk’s second trial. Baumruk also ...

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Deputy Scott Boan runs a metal detector over Stephen Jones at the ground floor entrance to the Jackson County Courthouse on Monday. While Jackson County has hefty security measures, some rural counties do not, prompting some lawmakers to favor letting prosecutors carry weapons. Earlier this year, a man whom Dent County Prosecutor Jessica Sparks had prosecuted on meth-related charges came into her courthouse office. Although Sparks said the confrontation didn't result in any injuries, she said she would have been in serious danger if a weapon was produced. Click here to continue reading.

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