Our firm has trial lawyers, myself included, who find ourselves in the Brampton Court House with fair regularity.
We don’t like being in Brampton. The Court Clerk Staff are overworked and matters take far longer there than in other jurisdictions. For eg. the clerk staff handling garnishments don’t open there mail until approximately 6 weeks after it is received (this is usually mail with money for creditors in it).
We also don’t like Brampton due to the location of the Law Library and Lawyer’s Robing Rooms. In order to reach these facilities we have to pass through the narrow, crowded hall way of first appearance court. Picture running the gauntlet, lined on either side by angry people who don’t like lawyers. Good times.
However, for all its’ shortcomings, security has never been one of them and the shooting on Friday showed that everything worked as it should, with the big exception of the Police Officer being injured.
As lawyers, we are required to produce identification in order to avoid the metal detector screening. When the shooter tried to walk through without i.d., the system functioned as it should and he was challenged.
Thank-you to all the Police Officers in all the Court Houses in Ontario who keep us safe. You are remarkable.