Can a Florida bailiff with a concealed weapons permit carry a gun in the courthouse if the presiding judge gives permission?

Plain-English summary

Florida generally bars carrying a concealed weapon into a courthouse or courtroom, even with a concealed weapons license. But the statute carves out an exception for judges. A circuit judge in Miami-Dade had authorized his bailiff, who held a current concealed weapons permit and was an NRA-certified law enforcement firearms instructor, to carry a concealed weapon in the courtroom. The judge asked Attorney General Pam Bondi whether that authorization let the bailiff also carry the weapon through the rest of the courthouse to get to the courtroom.

The AG said yes. Section 790.06(12)(a) lists courthouses and courtrooms among the places a concealed weapons license does not reach, but subsection 5 adds that nothing in the section "would preclude a judge from carrying a concealed weapon or determining who will carry a concealed weapon in his or her courtroom." Reading that plain language, the AG concluded a presiding judge may designate who carries a concealed weapon in the courtroom. Applying the principle that an express statutory power carries the implied authority needed to make it effective, the AG reasoned that a person the judge has authorized to carry in the courtroom must necessarily be able to walk through the courthouse to reach that courtroom; otherwise the authorization would be meaningless. The AG pointed to a Sixth Judicial Circuit administrative order recognizing that bailiffs, like judges and law enforcement officers, may carry weapons in the court area as an illustration of the same understanding.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2012. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Florida's concealed-carry statute (section 790.06) has been amended since 2012, including broader changes to carry laws. Local administrative orders and court security rules also vary by circuit and change over time. Confirm the current statute and the relevant local court rules before relying on this analysis.

Common questions

Q: Can anyone with a concealed weapons license carry into a Florida courtroom?
A: No. Section 790.06(12)(a) lists courthouses and courtrooms as places a concealed weapons license does not authorize carry. The exception is for a judge, and for anyone the judge determines may carry in that judge's courtroom.

Q: Does the judge's permission only cover the courtroom itself?
A: The AG concluded it reaches the path to the courtroom too. Because the express power to authorize courtroom carry would be pointless if the person could not get there armed, the authorization necessarily allows passage through the courthouse to access the courtroom.

Q: Did it matter that the bailiff was NRA-certified?
A: The opinion noted the bailiff's concealed weapons permit and NRA firearms-instructor certification as background, but the authority rested on the judge's statutory power to designate who may carry in the courtroom, not on the certification. The AG presumed the bailiff was relying on the permit, not acting as a certified law enforcement officer under section 790.051.

Q: Can a judge carry a concealed weapon in his or her own courtroom?
A: Yes. The same provision, section 790.06(12)(a)5., expressly preserves a judge's ability to carry a concealed weapon in his or her courtroom.

Background and statutory framework

Section 790.06 authorizes the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to license concealed weapons or firearms, and a licensee must carry the license and valid identification while in possession of the weapon. Section 790.06(12)(a) then lists places off-limits to licensed carry, including any courthouse and any courtroom, with the courtroom item adding the judge exception in subsection 5.

The AG's reasoning on the courthouse-access point rested on the implied-powers doctrine: an express statutory power includes the implied authority to use the means necessary to carry it out (State ex rel. Greenburg v. Florida State Board of Dentistry, 297 So. 2d 628 (Fla. 1st DCA 1974); City of Cape Coral v. GAC Utilities, Inc., of Florida, 281 So. 2d 493 (Fla. 1973)), so long as the implied power is essential to the granted one (Florida State University v. Jenkins, 323 So. 2d 597 (Fla. 1st DCA 1975); Gardinier, Inc. v. Florida Department of Pollution Control, 300 So. 2d 75 (Fla. 1st DCA 1974)).

Citations and references

Statutes:

• s. 790.06, Fla. Stat. (licensing of concealed weapons and firearms)
• s. 790.06(12)(a), Fla. Stat. (places where licensed carry is not authorized, including courthouses and courtrooms)
• s. 790.06(12)(a)5., Fla. Stat. (judge exception for the courtroom)
• s. 790.06(1), Fla. Stat. (license issuance and carry-the-license requirement)
• s. 790.051, Fla. Stat. (exemption for law enforcement officers acting within official duties)

Cases:

• State ex rel. Greenburg v. Florida State Board of Dentistry, 297 So. 2d 628 (Fla. 1st DCA 1974), implied authority to carry out an express power
• City of Cape Coral v. GAC Utilities, Inc., of Florida, 281 So. 2d 493 (Fla. 1973), entity exercises powers expressly granted or necessarily implied
• Florida State University v. Jenkins, 323 So. 2d 597 (Fla. 1st DCA 1975), implied power must be essential to the express power
• Gardinier, Inc. v. Florida Department of Pollution Control, 300 So. 2d 75 (Fla. 1st DCA 1974), implied powers must be indispensable to those expressly granted

Source

• Landing page: https://www.myfloridalegal.com/ag-opinions/judges-concealed-weapons-in-courtroom
• Original PDF: https://www.myfloridalegal.com/print/pdf/node/1626

Original opinion text

The Honorable Scott J. Silverman

Circuit Judge

Eleventh Circuit of Florida

Lawson E. Thomas Courthouse Center

175 Northwest First Avenue

Miami, Florida 33128

RE: CONCEALED WEAPONS – COURTS – JUDGES – judge's authority to determine who may carry concealed weapon in courtroom. s. 790.06, Fla. Stat.

Dear Judge Silverman:

You ask substantially the following question:

May a bailiff possessing a concealed weapons permit carry a concealed weapon in the county courthouse with the permission of the presiding judge?

In sum:

A presiding judge may determine who will carry a concealed weapon in his or her courtroom and such determination necessarily allows the individual to proceed through the courthouse in order to access the courtroom.

You state that pursuant to section 790.06, Florida Statutes, you have authorized your bailiff to carry a concealed weapon in your courtroom. Your bailiff has a current concealed weapons permit and is certified by the National Rifle Association as a law enforcement firearms instructor.[1]

Section 790.06, Florida Statutes, authorizes the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to issue licenses to carry concealed weapons or concealed firearms.[2] Any person in compliance with the licensure requirements may carry a concealed weapon, but must carry the license, along with valid identification, at all times while in possession of the concealed weapon.[3]

Section 790.06(12)(a), Florida Statutes, however, in pertinent part, states:

"A license issued under this section does not authorize any person to openly carry a handgun or carry a concealed weapon or firearm into:

4. Any courthouse;

5. Any courtroom, except that nothing in this section would preclude a judge from carrying a concealed weapon or determining who will carry a concealed weapon in his or her courtroom[.]" (e.s.)

The plain language of section 790.06(12)(a)5., Florida Statutes, exempts from the prohibition against concealed weapons in a courtroom a judge and anyone who is determined by the judge to be authorized to carry a concealed weapon in his or her courtroom. The statute recognizes the authority of a judge to designate individuals who may carry a concealed weapon in his or her courtroom.

An express power duly conferred by statute may include the implied authority to use the means necessary to carry out the express power.[4] Thus, where the plain language of the statute authorizes a judge to designate those individuals authorized to carry a concealed weapon in his or her courtroom and the statute acknowledges that nothing in the section will preclude such authority, logic would dictate that the individual so authorized would be able to carry the concealed weapon through the courthouse in order to access the courtroom in which he or she is authorized to carry the weapon.[5]

While I have been unable to locate a local court rule for Miami-Dade County relating to the carrying of concealed weapons, as an illustrative point, I would note that the Sixth Judicial Circuit in Pasco County has adopted a rule relating to court security which states: "Except for judges, bailiffs, and law enforcement officers as provided in this paragraph, no person possessing a firearm, taser, electronic control weapon, ammunition, knife, mace, pepper spray, or dangerous weapon may enter or occupy a court facility."[6] (e.s.) Thus, other circuits have recognized that bailiffs are authorized to carry weapons in a courtroom or the court area of a courthouse.

Accordingly, it is my opinion that a presiding judge may determine who will carry a concealed weapon in his or her courtroom and such determination necessarily allows the individual to proceed through the courthouse in order to access the courtroom.

Sincerely,

Pam Bondi

Attorney General

PB/tals

[1] It is presumed that since you indicate that your bailiff has a current concealed weapons permit, he or she is not acting as a certified law enforcement officer for purposes of the exemption in s. 790.051, Fla. Stat., which exempts law enforcement officers from the licensing and penal provisions of the chapter "when acting at any time within the scope or course of their official duties or when acting at any time in the line of or performance of duty."

[2] Section 790.06(1), Fla. Stat.

[3] Id.

[4] Cf. State ex rel. Greenburg v. Florida State Board of Dentistry, 297 So. 2d 628 (Fla. 1st DCA 1974), cert. dismissed, 300 So. 2d 900 (Fla. 1974); City of Cape Coral v. GAC Utilities, Inc., of Florida, 281 So. 2d 493 (Fla. 1973) (a statutorily created entity may only exercise such powers as have been expressly granted by law or may be necessarily implied therefrom in order to carry out an expressly granted power).

[5] See Florida State University v. Jenkins, 323 So. 2d 597 (Fla. 1st DCA 1975) (implied power must be essential in order to carry out the expressly granted power or duty imposed); Gardinier, Inc. v. Florida Department of Pollution Control, 300 So. 2d 75 (Fla. 1st DCA 1974) (implied powers accorded administrative agencies must be indispensable to powers expressly granted).

[6] Administrative Order No. 2009-083 PA-CIR, Sixth Judicial Circuit in and for Pasco and Pinellas Counties, Fla.