Since 9/11 the security procedures just to enter a local court house are tighter than most US airports. The bullet proof vest was probably more for the transportation in and out of the court house. Once inside, he was probably pretty safe.
Here is some information on court room security,
A security courtroom has a wire-reinforced glass partition and bars separating the spectator area from the court area.
This article said that because the accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty, We have held that the use of shackles, handcuffs or gags during trial may interfere with a fair trial. 2http://ftp.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F2/946/946.F2d.1462.90-56320.html
LR 83.31
No Weapons Allowed. No persons including law enforcement officers, except the United States Marshal and his duly assigned deputy Marshals, and federal protective officers on assignment or upon call, shall wear or bring any firearm or other weapon into the courtroom of any United States Courthouse or federal building in the Southern District of Georgia unless specifically authorized to do so by a Judge of this Court. Any firearm or weapon shall be checked with the Marshal. A willful failure to comply with this rule shall subject the offender to a rule for contempt and such offender may be subjected to appropriate disciplinary action by the Court.
LR 83.27
Security. When magnetometers are deemed necessary by a Judge of this district and placed into operation by the United States Marshal Service, it will be required that all persons entering a facility so protected be cleared through the magnetometer prior to being granted access.
A magnetometer is a device for measuring the direction and intensity of a magnetic field.
http://www.gas.uscourts.gov/lr/lr9.htm
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The following discusses the security measures that are common in courtrooms.
Lawyers: Court security extensive, March 13, 2005
The shooting spree that started in an Atlanta courtroom, killing a judge and two others on Friday, occurred despite security measures common in courtrooms across Georgia and the United States, according to lawyers familiar with the incident.
Howard Weintraub, a former federal prosecutor in Atlanta and now a criminal defense lawyer, said he doesn't think security personnel could have done anything differently.
"Fulton County [courthouse] to me is as secure as any in the state, more secure than many," he said in a telephone interview.
The suspect, 33-year-old Brian Nichols, was being retried for rape and kidnapping in Fulton County Superior Court Judge Rowland Barnes' courtroom. Nichols took a gun from a sheriff's deputy before shooting and killing Barnes and a court reporter, police said.
The suspect fled the eighth-floor courtroom, shot and killed a deputy outside the building and carjacked several vehicles while making his escape, officials said. Police were still searching for him Friday night.
Barnes told attorneys Thursday that he was concerned Nichols could pose a danger if he were convicted, the suspect's attorney said.
The judge pledged to bolster security for the remainder of the trial after a sheriff's deputy Wednesday found makeshift weapons in Nichols' shoes.
Fulton County Superior Court officials were not available for comment, but some lawyers who practice in the courthouse said there are extensive security measures in place to prevent such attacks.
"Their security is as strict as that at the airport," said B.J. Bernstein, a criminal defense attorney in Atlanta told CNN.
Weintraub said the courthouse is equipped with electronic locks to secure the judicial chambers. Judges also have a "kick bar" below the bench at their feet to alert law enforcement in case of an incident. One or two sheriff's deputies are also on duty in most courtrooms, Weintraub said.
It is unclear exactly how Nichols got the weapon from the deputy. Gun holsters used by sheriff's deputies have safeguards to prevent a weapon from being removed, said a spokesman for Smyrna Police Distributors, in Georgia, which sells the holsters.
Nichols was reportedly not shackled.
The treatment of defendants in courtrooms is at the discretion of judges, and defendants may only be handcuffed or restrained if a judge deems it necessary. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that people on trial can be shackled, but only if prosecutors have a strong argument for it.
http://articles.cnn.com/2005-03-11/...y-measures-courtroom-deputy-sheriff?_s=PM:LAW
