Bartholomew County judges have decided to delay implementation of a proposed rule banning cell phones in the county courthouse as they seek additional input from the public and from the Indiana Supreme Court.
A proposed rule change would ban all cell phones and other types of audio and video recording equipment from the courthouse, with exceptions to court staff, clerk’s staff, court services, law enforcement, Department of Child Services, and attorneys.
Originally scheduled to go into effect Jan. 1, Bartholomew Superior Court 1 Judge Jim Worton said that is now being put aside to allow for more feedback from the public and those who frequent the courthouse, and more research into how other courthouses are handling security issues related to cell phones.
The proposed rule change has been under consideration since October, and the judges had thought it had been placed on the Bartholomew County website for the public to consider. However, the link was not operational when a Republic reporter attempted to access it, with the file saying there was a “404 error.”
Judge Kelly Benjamin said the judges had not been aware that the proposal was not able to be viewed on the county website.
For more on this story, see Thursday’s Republic.
