the building. Prior to that time, deputies from the county police department worked as bailiffs during trials and were also supposed to visit the courthouse twice on days when trials were not being held. However, because of other duties, deputies did not always have time to visit the courthouse. Papez also noted that some of Nevada's most dangerous criminals were kept at Ely State Prison and were sometimes brought to the courthouse. The Ely Times, the local newspaper, wrote at the time, "Security at the courthouse now is haphazard at best and non-existent the majority of the time. While there is a metal detector at the top of the stairs on the second floor, all of the courthouse doors stay unlocked throughout the day. And people who take the elevator to the second floor avoid the single metal detector." Papez planned to start having all entrances locked during the day, aside from the main entrance. In February 2007, Nevada governor Jim Gibbons and State Senator Bob Beers of Las Vegas toured the courthouse and joined a list of judges and lawmakers who supported the construction of a new, $14 million judicial complex. State funding was required for a new courthouse, but lawmakers had concerns about the ability of the county to pay for future expenses at the new facility. To alleviate these concerns, the county planned to introduce a draft proposal which would pay for the new facility's daily operations in the form of a pre-funded $4 million courthouse trust. In March 2007, Nevada Supreme Court Chief Justice William Maupin called the courthouse "one of the most dangerous locations in this state," saying, "Nevada's most dangerous criminal defendants, those incarcerated at the Ely State Prison, frequently appear in court in Ely and sit in a witness box that is within arm's reach of juror positions one and two." In his proposed budget, Gibbons included $6.5 million for a new county judicial facility. State lawmakers reduced the amount to $1.5 million, to pay for updated security measures at the current courthouse. In June 2007, five Democrat state lawmakers from Clark County eliminated funding for the courthouse entirely. In October 2007, the United States Marshals Service completed a federal study of the building, as requested by Papez. Vincent Freiburger of the U.S. Marshals Service wrote in his report, "Not only is the site location unacceptable, but the facility will never meet minimum