Opie's Job - S6-E1
Other mistake: In the scenes outside the grocery store with Mr. Doakes, there are a couple dozen cereal boxes in the display windows - Post Grape Nuts, Post Grape Nuts Flakes, Post Alpha Bits, etc., and all the boxes have part of their names covered, such as "Rap Ut." It's pretty funny considering that TAGS cast did commercials for Post Grape Nuts, and other Post foods.
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 ★