Can a Virginia sheriff ban guns in every part of a courthouse, including the constitutional officer offices and county admin offices on other floors?

Plain-English summary

The Fauquier County Sheriff laid out a real security problem. The county's 1970s-era courthouse is a single four-story building with four public entrances. It houses two circuit courtrooms, a temporary detention area for prisoners awaiting court appearances, the judges' chambers, the Clerk's Office, three constitutional officers (Commonwealth's Attorney, Treasurer, Commissioner of the Revenue), and several county administrative offices (Community Development, Permitting, GIS, 911 Addressing, and others). Only one entrance, on Culpeper Street, has a metal detector and a security officer, and that entrance is used only when court is in session. The other three entrances are unsecured, and people have been seen openly carrying firearms in the Clerk's Office and record room. Internal pathways (emergency exits, stairwells, elevators) let someone who enters through the unsecured doors reach the courtrooms and judges' chambers, defeating the secure entrance's purpose. Security audits flagged the arrangement as creating "material security risks."

The Sheriff wanted to restrict the building to one always-open public entrance and one court-session entrance, both equipped with metal detectors, and to ban weapons throughout the building (except for officials exempt under § 18.2-283.1). His question: is that legal even though many parts of the building house non-judicial offices?

Attorney General Mark R. Herring concluded yes. Section 18.2-283.1 makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor to possess or transport a weapon "into any courthouse in this Commonwealth," with an exception for certain public officials in the conduct of official duties (police officers, sheriffs, law enforcement agents, conservation police, conservators of the peace, magistrates, court officers, judges, and city or county treasurers). The statute does not define "courthouse," but the ordinary meaning is "a building housing judicial courts." The Fauquier County Courthouse is one building, and the entire building is a courthouse, even if parts of it house non-judicial offices.

The purpose-driven analysis from Jones v. Conwell, 227 Va. 176, 181 (1984), supports this reading. Statutes should be read to "give reasonable effect to every word and to promote the ability of the enactment to remedy the mischief at which it is directed." The mischief here is weapons in courthouses; the statute's purpose is courthouse security; allowing people to carry weapons into unsecured non-judicial areas with internal pathways to the secured judicial areas defeats the statute. The General Assembly could have written an exception for non-judicial spaces in a courthouse but didn't, and Virginia courts will not add words the legislature didn't enact (Appalachian Power Co. v. State Corp. Comm'n, 284 Va. 695, 706 (2012)).

The AG closed with two important caveats. First, the ultimate authority over courthouse security is the judiciary; trial courts have inherent authority to ensure security in courtrooms and (by extension) the entire courthouse (Payne v. Commonwealth, 233 Va. 460, 466 (1987); Epps v. Commonwealth, 46 Va. App. 161, 176 (2005)). Second, separate Virginia case law (Egerton v. Hopewell, 193 Va. 493, 501 (1952); Bd. of Supvrs. v. Bacon, 215 Va. 722, 724-25 (1975)) holds that the locality, not the circuit court, controls which government officials occupy non-judicial portions of the courthouse. Those cases are about who gets to assign office space, not who gets to bring guns into the building, and they don't change the weapons analysis.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2016. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Section 18.2-283.1 has been amended periodically since 2016, sometimes expanding the list of exempt officials and sometimes refining the offense elements. Virginia weapons law has also moved significantly since this opinion, including 2020 reforms. Anyone designing or enforcing a current courthouse security plan should check current statutory text and current case law.

Background and statutory framework

Section 18.2-283.1 prohibits possession or transport into a Virginia courthouse of: (i) guns and weapons designed or intended to propel a missile or projectile; (ii) frames, receivers, mufflers, silencers, missiles, projectiles, or ammunition designed for use with a dangerous weapon; and (iii) any other dangerous weapon, including explosives, stun weapons (as defined in § 18.2-308.1), and the weapons listed in § 18.2-308(A). Violations are Class 1 misdemeanors and weapons are subject to seizure. Section 19.2-386.28 makes such weapons forfeitable.

The statute carves out certain officials acting in their official duties: police officers, sheriffs, law enforcement agents or officials, conservation police, conservators of the peace, magistrates, court officers, judges, and city or county treasurers.

The statute does not define "courthouse." A 2008 AG opinion concluded that "where a statute referred to courthouses but did not define that term, 'it is necessary to employ the general definition of that word'" (2008 Op. Va. Att'y Gen. 48, 49). The American Heritage Dictionary defines "courthouse" as "a building housing judicial courts" (AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY 420 (4th ed. 2009)). Under Sansom v. Bd. of Supvrs., 257 Va. 589, 594-95 (1999), and Dep't of Taxation v. Orange-Madison Coop. Farm Serv., 220 Va. 655, 658 (1980), undefined terms get their ordinary meaning in context.

The Fauquier facts pushed the question because the building is mixed-use: judicial functions are housed alongside three constitutional officers and several county administrative offices. The Sheriff and outside security consultants had concluded that internal pathways let people who enter through unsecured doors reach the secured judicial areas, making the existing setup inadequate.

The AG's analysis turned on three principles. First, the ordinary meaning of "courthouse" is the building, not just the courtrooms. Second, the purpose of § 18.2-283.1 is courthouse security; reading it to exclude non-judicial areas of a courthouse, when those areas connect internally to secured judicial areas, would defeat the statute (Jones v. Conwell, 227 Va. 176, 181 (1984)). Third, courts cannot add language the General Assembly chose not to enact (Appalachian Power Co. v. State Corp. Comm'n, 284 Va. 695, 706 (2012)); the General Assembly could have excluded non-judicial offices but did not.

The AG flagged a body of case law on locality-versus-court control over courthouse space (Egerton v. Hopewell, 193 Va. 493 (1952); Bd. of Supvrs. v. Bacon, 215 Va. 722 (1975)). Those cases hold that the locality controls who occupies non-judicial portions of the courthouse. The AG distinguished them as addressing a different question (office-space assignment, not weapons), and reiterated that case law cannot rewrite a statute (Burns v. Gagnon, 283 Va. 657, 675 (2012)).

The opinion ended with a constitutional-authority point. Trial courts have inherent supervisory authority over courtroom and (by extension) courthouse security (Payne v. Commonwealth, 233 Va. 460, 466 (1987); Epps v. Commonwealth, 46 Va. App. 161, 176 (2005)). The Sheriff's security plan ultimately operates under the umbrella of the trial court's inherent authority, and coordination with the judiciary is essential.

Common questions

Q: Can the Sheriff ban guns in non-courtroom parts of the courthouse that house county offices?
A: The AG concluded yes. Section 18.2-283.1 applies to the entire building. The statute carries an exception for certain officials acting in official duties, but otherwise the ban covers all parts of the building.

Q: What about the constitutional officers (Commonwealth's Attorney, Treasurer, Commissioner of the Revenue) who office in the courthouse? Their staff and visitors?
A: They are inside the courthouse, so they are subject to the statute. The exception in § 18.2-283.1 covers certain officials in the conduct of official duties (including city/county treasurers), but it does not exempt their visitors or the public.

Q: What is the penalty for bringing a weapon into a Virginia courthouse?
A: Class 1 misdemeanor under § 18.2-283.1. The weapon may be seized, and § 19.2-386.28 makes it forfeitable.

Q: Does the locality or the court control space inside the courthouse?
A: For office-space assignment in non-judicial portions, the locality controls (Egerton v. Hopewell; Bd. of Supvrs. v. Bacon). For courthouse security, the trial court has inherent supervisory authority (Payne; Epps). The Sheriff implements security under the court's authority.

Q: Could the General Assembly have written § 18.2-283.1 to exclude non-judicial areas?
A: Yes, but it didn't. The AG and the courts will not add words the legislature chose not to enact.

Q: What officials are exempt from the weapons ban?
A: Police officers, sheriffs, law enforcement agents or officials, conservation police, conservators of the peace, magistrates, court officers, judges, and city or county treasurers, all while in the conduct of their official duties.

Citations and references

Virginia statutes:

• Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-283.1 (weapons in courthouses)
• Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-308 (concealed and other weapons)
• Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-308.1 (stun weapons definition)
• Va. Code Ann. § 19.2-386.28 (forfeiture of weapons)
• Va. Code Ann. § 2.2-505 (AG advisory opinion authority)

Cases:

• Jones v. Conwell, 227 Va. 176 (1984)
• Sansom v. Bd. of Supvrs., 257 Va. 589 (1999)
• Dep't of Taxation v. Orange-Madison Coop. Farm Serv., 220 Va. 655 (1980)
• Appalachian Power Co. v. State Corp. Comm'n, 284 Va. 695 (2012)
• BBF, Inc. v. Alstom Power, Inc., 274 Va. 326 (2007)
• Egerton v. Hopewell, 193 Va. 493 (1952)
• Bd. of Supvrs. v. Bacon, 215 Va. 722 (1975)
• Burns v. Gagnon, 283 Va. 657 (2012)
• Tazewell Cnty. Sch. Bd. v. Brown, 267 Va. 150 (2004)
• Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of Roanoke, Inc. v. Cnty. of Botetourt, 259 Va. 559 (2000)
• Payne v. Commonwealth, 233 Va. 460 (1987)
• Epps v. Commonwealth, 46 Va. App. 161 (2005)

Prior AG opinions:

• 2008 Op. Va. Att'y Gen. 48

Source

• Landing page: https://www.oag.state.va.us/annual-reports-opinions/official-opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.oag.state.va.us/files/Opinions/2016/16-053-Mosier-prohibition-on-weapons-in-local-courthouse-issued-w-typo-corr-12-28.pdf

Original opinion text

COMMONWEALTH of VIRGINIA
Office of the Attorney General
Mark R. Herring
Attorney General

December 9, 2016

The Honorable Robert P. Mosier
Fauquier County Sheriff
78 West Lee Street
Warrenton, Virginia 20186

Dear Sheriff Mosier:

I am responding to your request for an official advisory opinion in accordance with § 2.2-505 of the Code of Virginia.

Issue Presented

You ask whether it is legally permissible to prohibit weapons in all parts of a courthouse, including those areas occupied by constitutional officers and county employees.

Background

The facts you have provided are as follows:

The Fauquier County Courthouse was completed approximately forty years ago.[1] It is a single four-story building with four public entrances, one on each side of the building. It houses two Circuit Court courtrooms, a temporary detention facility for prisoners awaiting court appearances, the Circuit Court record room, the Circuit Court Clerk's Office, the court's administrative offices, the judges' chambers, offices of three constitutional officers,[2] and also several county administrative offices.[3] It has been considered a mixed-use facility since it was completed. One entrance, on Culpeper Street, has been continuously identified as the courthouse entrance.

At that entrance, which provides access to the two courtrooms and is used only when court is in session, there is a security officer and a metal detector. Weapons may not be brought into the courthouse through it. The other three entrances provide direct access to the Clerk's Office, the constitutional officers, and county administrative offices. At these entrances, there is no security officer and no metal detector. There is presently no prohibition against bringing weapons into the building through the three unsecured entrances, and persons have from time to time been observed in the Clerk's Office or record room carrying firearms.

A person who enters the building through one of the unsecured entrances may obtain access to secured areas such as the courtrooms, the judges' chambers, and the Commonwealth Attorney's office through a number of different internal access points, including emergency exits, stairwells, and elevators. While there are restrictions of access at some of these access points, they are not uniform, and several of the restrictions may be bypassed. For that reason, it is not possible to effectively isolate the secured areas from persons who enter the courthouse through the unsecured entrances. Security audits made by outside consultants and law enforcement agencies indicate that the present system of access to the courthouse creates material security risks.

In order to provide adequate security to the courthouse, you have determined that it is necessary to restrict the building to one full-time public entrance and one entrance that is open only when court is in session, and to have metal detectors at both of those entrances. Weapons would not be allowed into the building, except for persons authorized by law to carry weapons in courthouses. You ask whether such a security plan would be legal.

Applicable Law and Discussion

The General Assembly has determined that it is illegal, a Class 1 misdemeanor, for anyone to have a weapon in a courthouse, subject to an exception for certain public officers and officials. The statute is § 18.2-283.1 of the Code of Virginia, and it provides as follows:

It shall be unlawful for any person to possess in or transport into any courthouse in this Commonwealth any (i) gun or other weapon designed or intended to propel a missile or projectile of any kind, (ii) frame, receiver, muffler, silencer, missile, projectile or ammunition designed for use with a dangerous weapon and (iii) any other dangerous weapon, including explosives, stun weapons as defined in § 18.2-308.1, and those weapons specified in subsection A of § 18.2-308. Any such weapon shall be subject to seizure by a law-enforcement officer. A violation of this section is punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor.

The provisions of this section shall not apply to any police officer, sheriff, law-enforcement agent or official, conservation police officer, conservator of the peace, magistrate, court officer, judge, or city or county treasurer while in the conduct of such person's official duties.[4]

To underscore the importance of this prohibition, the General Assembly has also determined that certain weapons taken into a courthouse are forfeited to the Commonwealth.[5] In light of this emphatic statutory prohibition on weapons in courthouses, the precise question presented is whether the various non-judicial offices within a courthouse are somehow exempt from the prohibition.

The manifest purpose of the statute in question is to ensure security in courthouses by barring the possession of weapons there. "[I]t is well established that every act of the legislature should be read so as to give reasonable effect to every word and to promote the ability of the enactment to remedy the mischief at which it is directed."[6] Allowing persons with weapons into unsecured non-judicial areas of a courthouse where, as is the case here, they would have access to secured areas such as courtrooms and judges' chambers would defeat the purpose of the statute.

Further, an important principle of statutory construction is that words not defined in a statute are to be construed according to their ordinary meaning.[7] A 2008 Attorney General opinion noted that where a statute referred to courthouses but did not define that term, "it is necessary to employ the general definition of that word."[8] The ordinary meaning of the term "courthouse" is "a building housing judicial courts."[9] Here, that means the entire Fauquier County Courthouse.

The fact that some portions of the courthouse are used for non-judicial offices does not change the fact that they are within, and a part of, the courthouse. The General Assembly could have worded the weapons statute to exclude "non-judicial" offices in a courthouse. It did not do so. "Rules of statutory construction prohibit adding language to or deleting language from a statute."[10]

For the reasons stated, and because of the particular fact that there is access from unsecured non-judicial areas in the courthouse to secured judicial areas, I conclude that the statute barring weapons in courthouses applies to the entire Fauquier County Courthouse, not just those portions of the building occupied by judges and courts.

Conclusion

Accordingly, it is my opinion that under the circumstances you have described, it would be legally permissible to implement a courthouse security plan under which weapons are prohibited in all parts of the Fauquier County Courthouse, including those areas occupied by constitutional officers and county employees, subject to the exception for certain public officers and officials set forth in § 18.2-283.1.[11]

With kindest regards, I am

Very truly yours,

Mark R. Herring
Attorney General

[1] The architect's plans are dated March 1, 1971, and November 18, 1972, with renovation plans dated July 4, 2004.

[2] Commonwealth's Attorney, Treasurer, and Commissioner of the Revenue.

[3] Community Development, Permitting, Building and Zoning, Land Development, GIS Department, Mapping, and 911 Addressing.

[4] VA. CODE ANN. § 18.2-283.1 (2014).

[5] "Any firearm ... or any weapon concealed, possessed, transported or carried in violation of § 18.2-283 ... shall be forfeited to the Commonwealth ...." Section 19.2-386.28 (2015).

[6] Jones v. Conwell, 227 Va. 176, 181 (1984).

[7] Sansom v. Bd. of Supvrs., 257 Va. 589, 594-95 (1999) (quoting Dep't of Taxation v. Orange-Madison Coop. Farm Serv., 220 Va. 655, 658 (1980)) ("An undefined term must be 'given its ordinary meaning, given the context in which it is used.'").

[8] 2008 Op. Va. Att'y Gen. 48, 49.

[9] AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY, p. 420 (4th ed. 2009).

[10] Appalachian Power Co. v. State Corp. Comm'n, 284 Va. 695, 706 (2012) (citing BBF, Inc. v. Alstom Power, Inc., 274 Va. 326, 331 (2007)). I note that there is case law holding that a circuit court judge may not control which government officials occupy portions of a courthouse not devoted to the judicial function, and it is the locality which has authority to assign that space. Egerton v. Hopewell, 193 Va. 493, 501 (1952); see also Bd. of Supvrs. v. Bacon, 215 Va. 722, 724-25 (1975) (holding that the locality, rather than the circuit court, controlled the use and occupancy of a portion of the courthouse building not designated for judicial function). However, that holding was based on facts unrelated to the present issue of courthouse security, and it was controlled in part by a statute unrelated to courthouse security. Further, it does not change the clear language of the statutory ban upon weapons in courthouses. A court cannot change or amend a statute. Burns v. Gagnon, 283 Va. 657, 675 (2012) (citing Tazewell Cnty. Sch. Bd. v. Brown, 267 Va. 150, 162 (2004) (quoting Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of Roanoke, Inc. v. Cnty. of Botetourt, 259 Va. 559, 565 (2000))) (A court "cannot change or amend a statute, under the guise of construing it.").

[11] I acknowledge that the ultimate authority over courthouse security is the judiciary. Courts have inherent authority to ensure the security of their courtrooms. Payne v. Commonwealth, 233 Va. 460 (1987), holding at 466 that, "The trial judge has overall supervision of courtroom security." That authority also extends to the entire courthouse, because, "it would be folly to claim the circuit judge has the power to ensure courtroom security, but not courthouse security." Epps v. Commonwealth, 46 Va. App. 161, 176 (2005).