Editor, Gazette-Journal: The recent administrative order restricting cell phone usage inside our courthouse is a direct subversion of Virginia House Bill 872 meant to improve customer service. The General Assembly passed this law to restore public access to taxpayer-funded buildings, ensuring citizens can use their phones to look up records, file adoptions, or handle rental disputes. Instead, this order relies on a bureaucratic workaround—forcing citizens to lock their phones in pouches at the front door—violating the very spirit of the law. A cell phone is a modern filing cabinet containing the vital digital data required to navigate complex paperwork. By exempting lawyers, commercial researchers, and staff, this order establishes a blatant, two-tiered system: “rules for thee, but not for me.” It signals that the courthouse exists to preserve the convenience of a protected, for-profit legal class, while treating self-represented citizens with inherent suspicion. This barrier actively ...