Judiciary
Federal judges speak out about threats becoming ‘ordinary’
Sitting federal judges speaking at a panel discussion Thursday said there are increasing threats against them and their family members and warned about the dangers of such threats becoming “ordinary.” (Image from Shutterstock)
Sitting federal judges speaking at a panel discussion Thursday said there are increasing threats against them and their family members and warned about the dangers of such threats becoming “ordinary.”
The panel was hosted online by the organization Speak Up for Justice.
“What’s most problematic is that the extraordinary has become ordinary,” said U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes of the District of Columbia, according to an article by Law360. “It’s just a matter of course now that when you issue an opinion that some people don’t like, you’re going to get threats, you’re going to get death threats, and that is obviously problematic on many levels.”
Reyes repeated some of the death threats that she has received, including calls for her to be lynched and shot, and she said many other judges she has talked to have described similar threats against them.
Reyes was joined by District Judge Mark Norris of the Western District of Tennessee, District Judge Michelle Williams Court of the Central District of California and Chief District Judge Dolly Gee of the Central District of California, according to Law360.
The Thursday event happened after a federal judicial ethics opinion in February that gave judges wider latitude to speak out about the rule of law and against “illegitimate criticism” of the courts, Law360 reports.
See also:
Federal judges warn of rising threats to safety of judiciary
Chief justice calls out personal attacks on judges as ‘dangerous’
Traumatic impacts of threats on judges, their families and court staff should be studied
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