My wife recently spent time serving as a juror for the Hon. Amber Mettler for a few days.
On the last night of her service, when the Jury stayed late to deliberate, her bicycle was subject to theft while parked at the courthouse. My wife and I share one car, so she chose to bicycle everyday to and from the courthouse. Because we live downtown, we often use cycling as an alternative to driving in order to budget for our family. She has several lights on her bike to enhance her visibility as we often bike with a trailer full of toddlers. The lights and mounts were stolen the night she deliberated until 9 p.m. She had to ride home that night with no lights. Fortunately, the thieves did not steal her bicycle.
We estimated the thieves took around $130 worth of lights and accessories. She parked her bike in the designated area just next to the rear doors (not in open view on the street) near security. The items were stolen in part because of the courtroom work going late and lack of adequate security for the bike.
We filed a report with the Salt Lake Police department and we contacted the security at the courthouse, which had a camera that could only see the handlebars of the bicycle.
The courthouse should provide better resources for jurors who use bicycles to arrive at the courthouse.
Enrique Arce-Larreta, Salt Lake City