Can a bailiff be allowed to carry a weapon in the courtroom or does he have to have a special license to do so?

Doesn't the license to carry arise from his peace officer license?

John, did I ever tell you my uncle was a bailiff? I guess in Oklahoma you don't have to be a peace officer to serve. I couldn't find anywhere in the CCP where it says they have to be peace officer in Texas, either. Just, the sheriff shall provide.

Yikes. That can't be right.

Around here, most of the bailiffs are retired state peace officers (DPS, TABC, etc.) who are allowed to carry by virtue of their retired LEO status; or, they are deputy sheriffs or constables who also carry by virtue of their LEO status.

Maybe this is too simplistic an answer, but it seems to me that if a pawn shop or gun store owner can allow his employees to arm themselves at work, surely a judge could do the same?

Under Penal Code 46.03(a)(3), a judge could provide "written authorization" for his bailiff (or anyone else) to be armed in his court. This may or may not be independent of the bailiff's status as a peace officer.

According to the TDCAA law quiz no special requirements are needed to be a bailiff.

"There is no special certification or education required of bailiffs. A bailiff need not be a deputy sheriff or a ceritifed peace officer. See 359 DAVID B. BROOKS, TEXAS PRACTICE �22.24 (2002)."

If a bailiff is a sworn deputy, constable or reserve officer, his TCLEOSE peace officer license is being sponsored/held by a law enforcement agency and thus he is entitled to carry a weapon (gun) under all circumstances allowed by his department and the law. His job assignment may differ but his ability to stay armed isn't.

Just curious. Are there many civilian bailiffs out there?

PC Sec. 46.03 (b) provides a defense to a person possessing a weapon in court if the person is an officer of the court. Thus, a bailiff, as an officer of the court, would not need written authorization by the court under PC Sec. 46.03 (a) (3) to carry a pistol.

Judge Ed:

With you on the bench and in control I would be comfortable in your court without a baliff, armed or not.

Steve Keathley

So, can a civilian bailiff carry the gun outside the courtroom?

The written authorization allowing a bailiff to carry a weapon was the only conclusion I could come up with as well from reading Tex. P. Code 46.03(a)(3). My bailiff was a peace officer for many years but in his last job as a probation officer he let his peace officer license run out since he wasn't allowed to carry a weapon as a probation officer. I think the bailiff's ability to carry a weapon would be limited to the courtroom and court offices under the written authorization.

The Bailiff in one of our district courts is not a peace officer. He is a certified jailer and has a concealed weapon permit. Is this sufficient. It piqued my curiosity the first time I realized he was not a peace officer.

John asked: "So, can a civilian bailiff carry the gun outside the courtroom?" Ans: Yes, if he has a CHL and he carries it concealed.

That can't be right; a CHL does not allow the license holder to enter any building in which a court is held. This means the bailiff could carry outside the building by virture of his CHL, and inside the courtroom of the court that employs him by virtue of the statutes others have cited in this thread, but would be committing a felony from the time he enters the building until he gets to the courtroom. (Assuming he made it through the metal detectors, of course).

As a concealed handgun license holder, I can't carry in any of the prohibited buildings listed in the statute, or onto private property where the owner has posted a sign that complies with the statute indicating he/she does not allow me to enter while carrying. But here's an observation: I have only ever seen two signs that complied with the statute. Some places (Whole Foods grocery store comes to mind) have a "polite" sign that says "Handguns are not allowed on the premises." However, this does not provide the statutorily required notice to a CHL holder. The statute explicitly requires: (1) the sign to have the specific wording, "Pursuant to Section 30.06, Penal Code (trespass by holder of license to carry a concealed handgun), a person licensed under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code (concealed handgun law), may not enter this property with a concealed handgun"; (2) the words must be at least 1" high, in contrasting print; (3) written in English and Spanish; and (4) conspicuously displayed.

Has anyone seen a case brought against a CHL holder in which a non-conforming sign was at issue?

AG Letter Opinion No. 94-038 states what has been stated above that a person may carry a firearm in a court or the offices utilized by a court "puruant to written regulations or written authorization of the court." Penal Code Sec. 46.04(a)(3). Thus a judge's bailiff need not be a "peace officer in order to carry a handgun in a courtroom or a court's offices." Cf. Attorney General Opnion JM-1028 (Penal Code Sec. 46.04 authorizes judge to possess gun in courtroom and to permit others to do so). Also, under 46.04, it's a defense that a person possessed a firearm "while in the actual discharge of his official duties as a peace officer or ...an officer of the court." Under the government code, a bailiff is an officer of the court.

The statute...(46.03(a)(3)...doesn't say a person carrying a weapon can't "enter any building in which a court is held." The statute says weapons are prohibited "...in any government court or offices used by the court...." Most of the courthouse offices are neither "a government court", nor are they "offices which are used by the court". My office is certainly not a government court or used by a court. The only way an entire courthouse could be a weapons prohibited zone is if the building were posted pursuant to 30.06.

Mike, I think you are correct that those areas are only off limits if notice is posted. I didn't research it, but I know the NRA'ers are trying to legislatively clarify the trespass/posted notice issue in gov't buildings and courts as we speak.

Also, I think most, if not all, of the bailiffs in Travis County courts are not peace officers, and none of them wear uniforms last time I checked.