Tears are not unusual in criminal courtrooms.

Sometimes, people even run screaming after juries sentence their loved ones.

But even seasoned staff members at the Tarrant County Justice Center were unprepared Friday for the outburst unleashed on startled jurors by the sister of a 21-year-old armed robber they had just sentenced to life in prison.

Details.

How does your judge protect against such outbursts at the end of a trial?

Real classy there. And we wonder why this defendant got into trouble in the first place?

The way you handle this is a bunch of baliffs for every verdict. Takes care of all problems.

I had a child abuse trial a few years ago. Jury gave the defendant the maximum ten years. Jury was then dismissed. Defendant's wife then shoved two of the jurors as they were walking down the stairs. She was promptly arrested. Since then our judge orders all observers to stay in the courtroom until the jurors have cleared the building. And another jury later sentenced the woman to 8 years in prison, for retaliation.