LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Two Los Angeles-based federal judges spoke out Thursday about what they called an unprecedented wave of threats, intimidation, and personal attacks they’ve endured as a result of rulings deemed unfair and politically motivated by certain members of the public.
Until recently, district court judges have traditionally spoken through their decisions, not in the public arena.
But the situation has become so dire that — in a plain rebuke of the Trump administration’s “war” on judges who issue opinions the president disagrees with — the U.S. Judicial Conference’s Codes of Conduct Committee issued an advisory opinion last month that frees federal judges to speak publicly about increasing threats to themselves and the judiciary.
“There’s a space to talk about this now,” U.S. District Judge Michelle Williams Court of the Central District of California said in an online forum hosted by Speak Up for Justice, a Los Angeles-based group of legal professionals, judges and advocates.
Court said she once received a threat warning that the person knew where her kids attended school.
“I was sure nothing was going to come of it, until one Saturday morning I looked out the window and there were four sheriff’s cars and four people sitting in handcuffs on my driveway,” Court said, adding she’s even been seeing “veiled threats” in pleadings from lawyers and others.
She said there’s a misperception among some people that federal judges base their rulings on the views of the president that nominated them.
“I don’t think society at large understands that judges just focus on the papers and the facts and the law,” she said. “When I need assistance from someone or I’m seeking advice from someone, I think about their subject matter expertise, I’m not thinking about who appointed them.”
As attacks on federal courts have increasingly turned personal, threats to judges, their families and staffs are common, with social media acting as “an accelerant,” said Chief Judge Dolly M. Gee, also of the Central District, who has spoken out about threats against judges for more than a year.
“I don’t think being a federal judge is a job for the faint- hearted,” Gee said during the Speak Up for Justice forum.
“What I probably didn’t expect to quite this degree was the level of vitriol and the types of violent threats that have come across my desk over the years,” she said.
The judge gave examples of the kinds of threats she has received.
In one, Gee said, the person warned, “I know who you are, what you look like, where you work, where you live, and what you drive. So I think I’ll pay you a visit soon. What do you think will happen then? Trust me, it will be the worst day in your life. See you soon.”
In another — a death threat that resulted in an indictment against the person who sent it — the judge was told she would be shot in her home.
President Donald J. Trump’s remarks in pubic statements and in Truth Social postings attacking judges who don’t issue decisions he favors have included such insults as “unpatriotic,” “disloyal,” “fools” and “lap dogs.” He has singled out other judges as a “disgrace to our nation” and an “embarrassment to their families.”
Paul Kiesel, founder of Speak Up for Justice, said such talk has become normalized.
“When the third branch of government is intimidated or silenced, the rule of law is at risk,” he said. “Judges across the country have faced impeachment threats, misconduct complaints, harassment, and targeted intimidation simply for doing their jobs.”