Hey guys so I have been looking to become a court officer after I get my bachelors degree in computer science and criminal justice, I don't plan on making it a career but as a temporary job, so a few questions.

1.  Can I choose what pistol I can carry? 

2. Can I wear a bulletproof vest? 

3. Can I be a bailiff for a Supreme Court or SCOTUS? 

4. I can basically get job at any court with this degree right? 

Edited June 29, 201510 yr by TheSandwichStealer

1. Depends on the organization. The answer may be "none," depending on circumstances.

2. Depends on the organization. The answer may be "none," depending on circumstances.

3. Depends on the state. In New York, the Supreme Court is the lowest level of the state courts, and has court officers. In general, though, appellate courts have much less of a need for bailiffs. They have security guards at the door, but the general environment is not one in which you necessarily need an armed courtroom officer. SCOTUS has a Marshal who attends the courtroom, but that's not actually a job open to you (the current one has served for 14 years).

4. No. Many courts require courtroom officers to be sworn, trained law enforcement officers, meeting the same requirements a patrolling cop does. In some places, it's handled by deputy sheriffs (who need to fully qualify as deputies). For federal courts (which do have contractors employed solely to do court security), you need to have graduated from a certified law enforcement academy and have three years of law enforcement experience to be a contract court security officer (to be a deputy marshal, you don't technically need the experience but federal LE positions are incredibly competitive). The difficulty depends on the court, but it's certainly not just "you can basically get a job anywhere with the degree."

I think cp702 pretty much covered it.

1. Most agencies will issue you a pistol and tell you that is what you will carry. Any agency that allows you to carry a personal firearm is still going to have restrictions on what you can carry.

2. Yes, you will probably be issued a kevlar vest. However, as cp702 said, it really depends on who you are working for.

3. cp702 pretty much covered everything on this. Short answer is yes, every court has some form of security so you could theoretically work for any of them. Depending on the court however, there might be certain prerequisites.

4. Again, depends on the court. Most local courts (city and county) rely on the local sheriff's office to provide court security. The sheriff's office in my county has a court services section which has full time and part time bailiffs who are sworn deputies.

Edited June 29, 201510 yr by l3ubba