Feb 08, 2010 - 02:27 PM

By Jeff Mitchell

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DURHAM -- A spat has erupted between local defence lawyers and the Durham police over searches of visitors to the new regional courthouse in Oshawa.

Monday morning -- the first day of hearings in the new building on Bond Street in downtown Oshawa -- lawyers boycotted the courts for a couple of hours, refusing to enter the premises. The lawyers are upset they're now subjected to searches at the front doors of the courthouse, a procedure they've been exempt from previously.

"It's an affront," Oshawa defence lawyer John Adamson said as he stood shivering with a number of his colleagues outside the courthouse. "This is our workplace."

For years now, members of the public entering Durham's two provincial courthouses have been subjected to security measures that included a manual search of bags and passing through a metal detector. But, lawyers have had only to show an identity card issued by the Law Society of Upper Canada to gain entry; most local lawyers, who are well-known to officers working security at the courthouses, haven't even been required to do that.

But, all that has changed with the opening of the new courthouse. Mr. Adamson noted the same lawyers are coming and going from the premises; all that's changed, he said, is the location of the courthouse.

"We're officers of the court," Mr. Adamson said. "Most of us have been coming to courts in Durham Region for 20 years. It's completely unacceptable and arbitrary."

Lawyers are also worried about breaches of client-counsel confidentiality should officers search lawyers' briefcases and bags, Mr. Adamson said.

Inspector Bruce Townley of Durham police said searches of all visitors -- some people who work at the courthouse, including Crown attorneys, are not subject to searches -- ensure the safety of the new building.

"Public safety is paramount," he said Monday at the Superior Court in Whitby, where a judge was to be asked to hear arguments on the matter.

Even cops attending trials will be subjected to searches, he said.

"We've put a lot of thought into this," Insp. Townley said. "This isn't just a knee-jerk reaction."

Security at the new courthouse includes metal detectors and scanners similar to those found in airports, where bags are placed on a conveyor belt and pass through. Documents and other items won't be examined, Insp. Townley said.

"We're only looking for contraband," he said. "If you've got nothing to hide, what is the issue?"