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Author’s note: this is part 12 in a series of educational posts I am going to write about State of Ohio and federal weapon and firearm laws. Part 1 can be found here. There is a list of the previous articles at the bottom (or side, depending on your device) of the page. This post does not offer legal advice. I am not a lawyer. I am a Certified Firearm Specialist through the International Firearm Specialist Academy and the State of Ohio certifies me to teach Ohio’s weapon laws in the Basic Police Academy. I’ve spent quite a bit of time studying federal law and Ohio’s laws in 30 years on the job. More than anything, this series of posts is an attempt to educate people on portions of the law and to show them where they can find the laws so that they can educate themselves further. Please consult with an attorney who specializes in firearms and weapons law if you have questions that require a legal opinion. If you are a law enforcement officer, check with your jurisdiction’s legal counsel for guidance. And remember, not all attorneys are created equal. And keep in mind that laws, interpretations of laws and definitions change. So what was current at the time I published this article may have changed over time.
This article will cover carrying weapons of any kind into courthouses. What many people may not realize is that Ohio Revised Code 2923.123 is only one area of the law that regulates weapons in courthouses. I’ll start with 2923.123 and then talk about the other way weapons are regulated in courthouses – local court rules.
If you read my article on weapons in school zones, you may recognize the language in this statute since it is almost word for word, the language in 2923.122 (other than clarifying it’s the court and not a school safety zone). So the next few paragraphs may also be familiar to you.
Let’s focus on three things to start. First, the mental state for this statute under (A) and (B) is “knowingly”: “A person acts knowingly, regardless of purpose, when the person is aware that the person’s conduct will probably cause a certain result or will probably be of a certain nature. A person has knowledge of circumstances when the person is aware that such circumstances probably exist. When knowledge of the existence of a particular fact is an element of an offense, such knowledge is established if a person subjectively believes that there is a high probability of its existence and fails to make inquiry or acts with a conscious purpose to avoid learning the fact.”
Second, let’s talk about “convey” and “possess”. Convey means bringing or transporting something (in this case, a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance) into the courthouse or building that contains a courtroom. Possession can be broken down into active/actual possession or what’s called “constructive” possession. Active/actual possession means you have physical control over something. Meaning it’s in your holster, or the backpack you’re wearing, etc. Constructive possession means you have the “ability and intention to exercise dominion and control” over something, but doesn’t require you to physically have your hands on it.
Third, let’s specify that this statute bans more than just firearms, it bans any “deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance”. So knives, brass knuckles and anything else that could be considered a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance. I talked, in detail, about what a deadly weapon is in this article. If you haven’t read that one, you should probably take a few minutes to read it.
So far, this statute has been pretty to easy to understand, right? Well, here’s where things start to get complicated – when is a court a court? Huh? Remember what the statute says – “courthouse or into another building or structure in which a courtroom is located.” Think about that for a minute. How many courts are located in buildings along with other government entities or private businesses. Look at the photo below. It’s Fairborn Municipal Court (FMC). And right next to it is Dollar General. It’s an old strip mall. Are they both “in the same building or structure”? Good question. I don’t have a good answer.
What do you think? Is FMC in the same “building or structure” as Dollar General? Here’s an overhead view:
Unfortunately, unlike “school safety zones”, the Legislature chose not to define courthouse, court, courtroom, building or structure. And there isn’t a decision from the Supreme Court of Ohio that I can find that addresses this. So what’s the problem? Do I really think that a prosecutor or police officer would try to charge a person who was otherwise legally carrying a pistol in Dollar General if they somehow figured out that person had the pistol? Since I know the prosecutors who would be involved at FMC, I know that isn’t a realistic probability so long as those prosecutors work there. But the problem is when a prosecutor or law enforcement agency goes rogue. Take the Sylvania, Ohio, Prosecutor for example. There’s a case going on up there that is truly scary. So, yes, I believe that any ambiguity in a law can be abused by the system. And the Sylvania case really isn’t ambiguous, but it’s happening just the same.
Let’s look at another example of the complexity of Ohio’s weapons laws. This time, let’s take a journey to Lebanon, Ohio. Home of the Golden Lamb restaurant. Which is right across the street from the Municipal Building in the picture. Several years ago, the City Council passed Lebanon Ordinance 508.13. 508.13 allows people to carry concealed firearms into the building during times when the Lebanon Municipal Court (LMC) was not in session. The City believed that they could pass this ordinance based on Ohio Revised Code 2923.126(B)(7). (B)(7) gives local governments and political subdivisions the ability to pass legislation like this. However, (B)(7) also specifically excludes courthouses and buildings that hours courtrooms as a place where local governments can allow people to carry concealed pistols. With that in mind, look at the very specific language at the end of the ordinance.
What? It turns out that the LMC is only a part time court and uses the Council chambers for court during certain days and times throughout the week. To make a long story short, “concerned citizens” sued, saying the ordinance was illegal. Both the Common Pleas Court and the 12th District Court of Appeals ruled in the City’s favor. Judge Tepe’s ruling was a very interesting read. If you’re a legal nerd like me you should take a few minutes and read it. The in-depth review of what makes a court a court was pretty interesting.
There is one more thing we need to cover about the Lebanon ordinance before I move on – who it applies to. If you think back to the articles I wrote about “Constitutional Carry” (starting here), you’ll remember that in the Ohio Revised Code a person who meets the definition of “qualifying adult” is considered a licensee for most of the weapon related exceptions. Two things about that to remember – first, 2923.111 excludes weapons in courthouses from the list of statutes where a qualifying adult = a licensee. Second, this statute is not in the Ohio Revised Code so 2923.111 does not apply in this situation. And I checked, Lebanon did not add a definition or section that adds a provision for a “qualifying adult”. At least that I could find. So in order to carry a concealed pistol within the Municipal Building in compliance with this local ordinance, it would appear that the person in question must have a concealed handgun license.
As with most sections of 2923 that deal with weapons, there are exceptions to the law. The most obvious one would be law enforcement. There are others that wouldn’t apply to the general public, but the one that I really want to cover is 2923.126(C)(6) – shown in the picture above (link to section). Yes, there is an exception that allows concealed handgun licensees to basically show up at court and tell the court security folks, “hey, I’m carrying. Who do I give my pistol to?” However, and this is important, courts don’t have to provide that service. I don’t know of a court that does. So I would encourage you to call ahead and ask if they provide that service before you just show up with a pistol.
Now let’s talk about the much lesser known manner in which weapons are regulated inside courthouses, courtrooms and buildings and structures that contain a courtroom – local court rules. The Supreme Court of Ohio allows/requires local courts to create their own rules on how that particular court manages their court. My agency recently started a court security unit so I learned more about these rules than I previously knew during that process (I wrote the policy for it). One of these local rules deals specifically with weapons allowed in the court. Here’s an example from the Xenia Municipal Court:
And here’s another one from Delaware County:
As you can see, these rules ban both deadly weapons and less-lethal weapons. So keep that in mind anytime you are going to a court or building that contains a courtroom. Here’s the kicker – although the court can ban less-lethal weapons from the court, conveying or possessing less-lethal weapons would not result in a felony violation of 2923.123, because 2923.123 specifically applies only to deadly weapons or dangerous ordnance. So what’s the penalty for violating a local rule? Good question. At the very least, I would imagine you could be held in contempt of court and locked up in jail for a bit. Or maybe charged with criminal trespassing if a prosecutor was willing to take that charge.
Other local rules can (and often do) address things like videotaping or audio recording in the courthouse. If you haven’t figured this out yet, inside their courtroom or courthouse, judges have immense power.
So, for the Cliff Notes version of this article – don’t try to take ANY sort of weapon into a courthouse, court, or building that houses a courtroom unless you know that you fall under one of the exceptions in the Ohio Revised Code. And “know” means more than just your interpretation of the statute. Talk to an attorney before you do something that may cost you in the long run.
That’s all for this week. Next week I’ll start talking about some of the more esoteric parts of the law that deal with concealed handgun licenses, carrying to and from an anti-2A work environment and who knows what else.
