Cell phone ban: Yes? No? Maybe?

Judges of the 15th Judicial District do not have the authority to ban cell phones from the three courthouses in the district, according to state Attorney General Buddy Caldwell.
The opinion was requested by the Vermilion Parish Police Jury shortly after the jury received a copy of an en banc order dated Jan. 15 issued by the judges of the district which set forth additional security procedures at the courthouse, one of which included a restriction on who may or may not possess cell phones in the courthouse. The ruling affects courthouses in the three parishes that make up the district — Acadia, Lafayette and Vermilion.
“En banc” is French for “in the bench” and signifies a decision by the full court.
The order was signed by Chief Judge Marilyn Castle.
In Opinion 15-0027 dated May 15, Caldwell said, “It is the opinion of this office that the police jury has the general authority to establish the appropriate security guidelines and procedures at the courthouse ... (including) the authority to establish security guidelines and procedures for the courtrooms, judicial offices and hallways located within the courthouse, as well as the authority to establish procedures for cell phone use at the courthouse.”
The attorney general added that “district judges have the authority to regulate cell phone use in his/her courtroom and judicial offices, as well as the general authority to establish guidelines and procedures concerning courtroom behavior and decorum.”
Pursuant to the judges’ order, the ban on cell phone use in the Acadia Parish Courthouse went into effect on March 1 and, as of Monday morning, was still being enforced at the front entrance.
“It’s not our job to make the rules, only to enforce them,” said one of the two sheriff’s deputies posted at the entrance.