It may be as late as next summer before local judges see a security wall built around the judges’ parking area adjacent to the courthouse.

The Gloucester County Board of Supervisors decided last Wednesday night to have county staff meet with the judges to get a consensus on the design they wanted, receive a more accurate estimate and move it forward to the county’s Capital Improvement Projects committee for a final decision.

Circuit Court Judge R. Bruce Long wrote a letter to supervisors chair Louise Theberge Oct. 25 that shared concerns of the three judges that serve in Gloucester about safety in the judges’ parking area. "Having the area so open invites mischief, or worse, by an unhappy litigant," Long wrote.

Long asked the county to seek either capital improvement funding or any emergency funds that may be available. "Given the current atmosphere of redress of perceived grievances through the use of violence, I suggest that funding this security measure as ...