Chalk up a rudimentary justification for a law-based order and you’ll eventually brush against the argument that it allows for people to resolve conflicts without resorting to violence. In a functioning society, you should be able to rely on a judge to get protection from credible threats. But here, even our judges aren’t safe; death could be waiting behind an anonymous pizza delivery. As a cringe billionaire and the President stoke discontent whenever court rulings don’t go their way, the judiciary has been left on their own devices to protect themselves. Those devices are, of course, guns.
ABA Journal has coverage:
[S]ome state judges say they don’t feel adequately protected, and some are carrying guns to defend themselves if necessary, according to a story by the New York Times.
…
[T]here’s no centralized security force tracking threats against state judges or protecting them, even though the estimated 30,000 state judges handle some of the most contentious cases in the country.
State judges rely on the same local law enforcement that everyone else does, the same ones that have no legal obligation to protect you. On the one hand, it is sad to read that there are state judges that “felt that local authorities were not equipped to investigate threats.” On the other:
The reality is that despite the success of years of Copaganda telling us otherwise, police haven’t really been hitting it out of the park on the investigative front. The declining murder clearance rate made headlines in 2023. If I were a judge facing threats to my life, I’d probably be pissed off to find out that the local police are making the most of their spare time by trying to entrap protestors:
It isn’t a good look for The People when their government can’t even afford to protect their own judges.
Some State Judges Turn To Guns Amid Rise In Threats Against Them [ABA Journal]
Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s . He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boat builder who is learning to swim and is interested in rhetoric, Spinozists and humor. Getting back in to cycling wouldn’t hurt either. You can reach him by email at christopherrashadwilliams@gmail.com and by Tweet/Bluesky at @WritesForRent.
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