Safe and Secure?

Charlotte County just accepted a bid for the new courthouse mandated by several judges.

According to the judges the current facilities were and are not “safe and secure.”

A reader stopped by last week and posed the following question.  “If the courthouse facilities are not safe and secure then by issuing me a jury summons isn’t the court forcing me to endanger my life and health by forcing me to enter an unsafe and unsecure courthouse?”

What would happen if a citizen refused to respond to a summons based on that argument?

 15.2-1643. Circuit courts to order court facilities to be repaired.

When it appears to the circuit court for any county or city, from the report of persons appointed to examine the court facilities, or otherwise, that the court facilities of such county or city are insecure, out of repair, or otherwise pose a danger to the health, welfare and safety of court employees or the public, the court shall enter an order, in the name and on behalf of the Commonwealth against the supervisors of the county, or the members of the council of the city, as the case may be, to show cause why a mandamus should not issue, commanding them to cause the court facilities of such county or city to be made secure, or put in good repair, or rendered otherwise safe as the case may be, and to proceed as in other cases of mandamus, to cause the necessary work to be done. The court shall cause a copy of such order to be served upon each supervisor or member of the council, as the case may be.