Meth Found in NorCo's Historic Courtroom 1

Faces of Meth

Northampton County's majestic Courtroom No.1, in existence since 1861, is the venue where officials are sworn into office and immigrants are naturalized. Portraits of long dead judges adorn the walls in a cavernous room with a high ceiling that reaches to the heavens. The centerpiece is the judges' bench, raised above everyone else. It's a place that inspires awe. It's also where a deputy sheriff recently discovered a envelope containing meth.

It's possible to keep a secret in Northampton County, but never for very long. I first heard yesterday that meth had been discovered in the well of Courtroom No. 1, near the jury box. The only people who sit there are lawyers and an occasional probation officer. I contacted Sheriff Richard Johnston to find out if what I had been told is rumor. It is unfortunately true. It is even more unfortunate that there's been no real investigation.

August 8 was arraignment day in Northampton County. On that day, many criminal defendants walk into the courtroom, but are directed alongside one side of the room to the benches behind the well of the court. Inside that well, and on the opposite side of where the public enter and exit, is the jury box. Attorneys sit there. The public is barred from the well and especially the jury box

Before arraignments got underway on August 8, "Boomer" (a K-9 with the Sheriff's office) and a Deputy searched the area for explosives and found nothing. According to the Sheriff, they also looked for contraband, although Boomer has no training yet in drug detection. This was at 7:45 am.

After the morning arraignments, Courtroom 1 was searched again at 12:45 am. This is when a Deputy observed a small glassine envelope containing a clear glassy substance, along with a pack of rolling papers. This was near the jury box, where only attorneys and an occasional probation officer sit.

The Sheriff's Department reviewed a video of the area and was unable to pinpoint anything conclusive because of the location and pedestrian traffic in that area, which gets heavy as numerous lawyers move around.

The substance was field-tested and determined to be methamphetamine.

According to the Sheriff, the DA's office was informed "of the circumstances and the lack of a suspect" and then the suspected meth was destroyed.

This was news to the actual DA, who knew nothing about the incident.

I believe there are suspects and they consist of every lawyer who was in the well of the court that day, particularly those who were in the jury box. I am even told that some lawyers can name the lawyer who dropped his meth bag. An investigation is difficult now because the meth has been destroyed. What's unfortunate is that a local lawyer using meth is a problem, both to his clients and himself. What the Sheriff's office did just enabled a probable addict.