Action in bailiff’s case is up to his boss, Mosley

Kim Smith

Tuesday, May 7, 2002 | 9:35 a.m.

If a judicial bailiff is reprimanded for allegedly using excessive force against a Las Vegas man, it would have to be by the same judge who held the man in contempt of court for the same incident.

Clark County Court Administrator Chuck Short said Thomas Knickmeyer is an at-will employee of District Judge Donald Mosley and court administrators have no authority to discipline judicial bailiffs.

Court administrators only oversee administrative bailiffs, who are responsible for providing security outside of the courtrooms at the Clark County Courthouse and Family Court.

According to Nevada statutes, judicial bailiffs maintain order in the courtroom, oversee jurors, open and close courtrooms and "perform such other duties as may be required of him by the judge of the court."

According to several witnesses, Knickmeyer was sent into the hallway outside Mosley's courtroom Thursday to quiet down a large group of people.

Among those in the hallway was 19-year-old Jeffrey Becker, who was scheduled to testify at a coroner's inquest into his father's February death.

Witnesses agree a scuffle ensued between Becker and Knickmeyer with Becker ending up in handcuffs, but opinions vary as to whether the bailiff used excessive force to take Becker into custody.

Mosley cited Becker for criminal contempt of court, but waived his fine and jail time because of the circumstances behind his visit to the courthouse.

Assistant Court Administrator Rick Loop said an investigation was launched into the incident because it took place in a public hallway. In addition, Knickmeyer called for the assistance of administrative bailiffs, who are hired and fired by court administrators.

The investigation is expected to be completed by Wednesday and reports will be forwarded to Chief District Judge Mark Gibbons and Mosley.

What, if anything, happens to Knickmeyer will be entirely up to Mosley.

"We can recommend, we can give advice, but as employers, judges must make their own decisions," Short said.

Short called the current situation "unique" in that most judicial bailiff incidents, because they occur in the courtroom or near judges' chambers, are investigated by the judges themselves.

Should court administrators hear of a complaint, they forward them to the relevant judge, Short said.

"Have we investigated (Knickmeyer) before? No. Have we transmitted complaints to the judge before? Yes," Short said.

If an administrative bailiff is accused of wrongdoing, witness statements are gathered and Short and Loop make a determination as to what, if any, disciplinary action should be taken.

In the past nine years, two full-time administrative bailiffs have been terminated, Short said.

Judicial bailiffs have been fired in the past, but not because of excessive force complaints, Short said.

The power to appoint their own bailiffs was granted to judges in the early 1900s.

According to Nevada Revised Statute 3.310, each District Court judge may appoint his own bailiff in counties with 4,500 voters or more. In counties with fewer than 4,500 voters, the county sheriff must agree with the judge's choice.

Short said the statute can create some problems.

"I would agree that with 30 different employers for bailiffs you can have different working conditions, and it is difficult to have standards applied consistently against all of the employees," Short said.

Although administrative bailiffs are hired through a competitive process and bailiffs are appointed, their qualifications are the same.

Every bailiff must be Peace Officer Standards and Training certified and must complete 24 hours of training annually, Loop said.

"I like to recruit from the ranks of retired police officers because they've got the experience," Loop said. "They've been there and done that. They have a wealth of training and they also have knowledge that can only be gained through experience."

A positive attitude is also a requirement for an administrative bailiff, Short said.

"We do look for people who are customer-service oriented because they literally see thousands of people from all walks of life come through the X-ray machine every day," Short said. "We expect them to treat people well irrespective of how they appear.