Courthouse
A courthouse is a building that either houses a local federal court and other federal agencies or serves a local court and regional county administration in North America. In larger cities there are usually separate buildings for these different purposes.
United States
In most counties in the United States , the local courts conduct their business in a centrally located courthouse, which may also house the county government offices. The courthouse is usually located in the county seat , although major cities may have satellite or outsourced offices for their courts.
In some cases the building can also be renamed. Sometimes the courthouse is divided into two buildings: one that houses the judiciary and one that houses the administration. Many judges officially attend civil weddings in their courthouse chambers. In some places the main county government administration office is also located there. In other cases, when a new courthouse is built, the old one is used for other local government offices.
The courthouse is part of the iconography of the American way of life and is often featured in motion pictures. There is a wide range among them: rural buildings in small towns with few rooms, but also huge buildings in large cities. The architecture is just as diverse: federal style (USA), Greek Revival (USA), neoclassical , but also modern .
Because of the risk of violence being used, court houses in US cities often have security checkpoints at which anyone attempting to enter the building is searched for weapons. This is usually done with the help of an X-ray machine for the pockets and a metal detector, which the person has to go through and which is similar to those at airports. After the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City , the United States federal government began pinning down all major federal buildings - including many city court houses.
Some court houses in areas with a high crime rate have multiple levels of security. Would someone like For example, if you are attending a California Supreme Court hearing at the Los Angeles branch, you must first go through one security checkpoint to enter the building and another to get into the courtroom.
Courthouse in Orange County , Vermont
Canada
In Canada , each city council has its own courthouse, sometimes several if it is a larger city. In smaller towns the court is housed in the town hall. In the past, the local prison was located in many court houses.
