Other mistake: While Andy and Helen are rearranging everything in the squad car's trunk to make it all fit, Helen picks up the large thermos and written on its bottom we see "Reggie personal." Reggie Smith was property master on set. (00:12:45)
Visible crew/equipment: After Goober has deliberately removed the distributor cap from Andy's squad car, when Andy slams the hood shut we can see the reflection of the filming crew on Floyd's window. Then when Andy and Helen drive away in Goober's truck, the microphone pops up into view at the bottom of the screen. (00:17:20)
Continuity mistake: When Goober and Warren are at the diner, things on the counter keep switching places while Goober eats his peanut butter, tuna, and ketchup sandwich. (00:09:00)
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 ★