![The Andy Griffith Show mistake picture](/images/screenshots/216000-216999/216392_sm.jpg)
Continuity mistake: When Andy and Barney catch up with the man who ran Fletch's truck off the road, the rearview mirror suddenly vanishes in the closeups that face the windshield on Bailey's car.
Visible crew/equipment: When Barney's reading the Sunday comic strip Andy comes in to close the jail in the courthouse, and when Otis walks out of his cell we can see the actor's chalk mark on the floor where he stands.
Answer: As noted in the previous answers, in real life, things like this provided wind and/or rain deflection, and also maintained a bit of privacy when blinds were raised somewhat. The interior courthouse set was located in the studio, so the "outside" Main Street didn't exist. I believe these things were added to the courthouse windows for practicality, to avoid some crew movement being visible on the opposite side of those windows. These are not "window boxes" to hold anything, as they're actually bottomless; we can see the Venetian blind's long pull cords under them. They're made of plywood and simple to build, so the "material and labor" was inexpensive. Similar variations made of different materials are in other movies/shows. In 1957's "12 Angry Men," textured chicken wire glass panels are in the jury room windows, and in "Jesse Stone: Night Passage" another type is in Jesse's office windows.
Super Grover ★