Judiciary asks lawmakers for $3.3M in courthouse security upgrades across northern Wyoming
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Summary
The Wyoming Judicial Branch and the Court Security Commission asked the Joint Appropriations Committee for ~$3.3 million (with a proposed 10% county match) to fund security improvements at 11 courthouses in nine northern counties, citing audit findings and rising incident reports.
Alisa Butler, the state court administrator, and Justice John Fenn, chairman of the Court Security Commission, appeared before the Joint Appropriations Committee seeking state support to upgrade courthouse and courtroom security in 11 facilities across nine counties.
Butler said the branch contracted with the National Center for State Courts to perform security audits in 2024; the total cost of the recommended improvements across the identified northern courthouses is about $3.6 million before a suggested 10% county match. Justice Fenn emphasized some details of the audits are confidential for security reasons but said the requests are intended to protect jurors, staff and the public. "These requests are not for judicial security alone," Fenn said, "this is courthouse and courtroom security for the facilities, for the people who come and go in those facilities."
Fenn noted the commission has used similar grant models in 2015 and 2018, and proposed a grant program administered by an appropriate entity to allocate funds to counties based on needs identified by local court security commissions. He added that partial funding would still allow many projects to proceed. Lawmakers asked about local engagement; Fenn said reports and county‑level court security commissions were involved, though he had limited direct contact with some county commissioners during the rapid assessment and reporting timeline.
The request will be folded into the committee's supplemental and biennial deliberations.