Chief judge says colleague has not been reassigned over safety concern

Hennepin County Chief Judge James Swenson says he has not reassigned a judge who refused to take further cases at the county's three suburban courtrooms.

Judge Lloyd Zimmerman told some media outlets that he was transferred from civil to family court as retaliation for his complaints about a lack of security screening in courtrooms in Brooklyn Center, Edina and Minnetonka.

Zimmerman expressed concern after a shooting last month injured a prosecutor and witness at the Cook County Courthouse in northern Minnesota.

A courts spokesperson said other judges volunteered to take Zimmerman's cases, leaving him available for a new assignment.

Swenson said courthouse safety is a concern, but he said it's not just for judges in urban or suburban areas.

"There are many, many courthouses across the state that don't have any security," Swenson said. "I think many of my more rural colleagues are every bit as concerned as we are."

Court officials say a study about courtroom security should be completed this spring.