National court leaders made their case for passing federal legislation intended to protect the safety and security of the nation’s 30,000 state judicial officers during a briefing on Capitol Hill Tuesday.
Conference of Chief Justices President Collins J. Seitz Jr., of Delaware, was joined by Chief Judge Anna Blackburne-Rigsby of the DC Court of Appeals; Maryland Chief Justice Matthew J. Fader; and National Center for State Courts President Elizabeth Clement for a briefing on protecting state courts and judges in a changing threat landscape. District Judge Julie Kocurek of Travis County, Texas, also spoke about her personal experience of being shot by a defendant outside of her home in 2015.
“In too many states, judicial security resources are modest at best,” Seitz said. “We have seen judges followed, doxed, and threatened in their courtrooms. We have seen acts of violence at courthouses and, as you will hear firsthand, at judges’ homes.”
In July, Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) alongside Reps. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and Lucy McBath (D-Ga.) introduced the Countering Threats and Attacks on Our Judges Act. The bill establishes a State Judicial Threat Intelligence and Resource Center to provide technical assistance, training, and monitoring of threats for state and local judges and court personnel. Similar legislation unanimously passed the United States Senate in the 118th Congress. Coons, McBath and Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) were also on hand Tuesday to emphasize their support of the bill.
In 2021, individuals protected by the U.S. Marshals Service — including federal judges, prosecutors, and court officials — faced over 4,500 threats, a 400% increase since 2015. In the last several years, state judges and court personnel in multiple states have been killed, attacked, and even subject to murder plots simply for doing their jobs and deciding cases according to law. Washington County Circuit Court Judge Andrew F. Wilkinson was murdered outside his Maryland home in 2023.
During Tuesday’s briefing, Kocurek recounted the events surrounding the evening she was shot in the driveway of her home. She then spoke about her 40-day hospital stay and the permanent physical and emotional toll the shooting has taken on her and her family.
“If the sharing of my experience helps just one judge, my mission is accomplished,” Judge Kocurek said.
Unlike the federal judiciary, state and local judicial officers lack a centralized intelligence and resource center. The bill would create a State Judicial Threat Intelligence and Resource Center to:
• Provide technical assistance to state and local judges and court personnel around judicial security.
• Provide physical security assessments for courts, homes, and other facilities where judicial officers and staff conduct court-related business.
• Coordinate research to identify, examine, and advance best practices around judicial security.
“I cannot stress enough the critical importance of today’s discussion – the impacts of judicial threats and attacks reach far and wide. Not only do they affect the lives and physical safety of judges, court personnel, and their families, but they often pose risks to the public,” Clement said.
The House and Senate bills, H.R.4602 and S.2379, are available online in their entirety at www.congress.gov.
Conference of Chief Justices President Collins J. Seitz Jr., of Delaware, was joined by Chief Judge Anna Blackburne-Rigsby of the DC Court of Appeals; Maryland Chief Justice Matthew J. Fader; and National Center for State Courts President Elizabeth Clement for a briefing on protecting state courts and judges in a changing threat landscape. District Judge Julie Kocurek of Travis County, Texas, also spoke about her personal experience of being shot by a defendant outside of her home in 2015.
“In too many states, judicial security resources are modest at best,” Seitz said. “We have seen judges followed, doxed, and threatened in their courtrooms. We have seen acts of violence at courthouses and, as you will hear firsthand, at judges’ homes.”
In July, Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) alongside Reps. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and Lucy McBath (D-Ga.) introduced the Countering Threats and Attacks on Our Judges Act. The bill establishes a State Judicial Threat Intelligence and Resource Center to provide technical assistance, training, and monitoring of threats for state and local judges and court personnel. Similar legislation unanimously passed the United States Senate in the 118th Congress. Coons, McBath and Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) were also on hand Tuesday to emphasize their support of the bill.
In 2021, individuals protected by the U.S. Marshals Service — including federal judges, prosecutors, and court officials — faced over 4,500 threats, a 400% increase since 2015. In the last several years, state judges and court personnel in multiple states have been killed, attacked, and even subject to murder plots simply for doing their jobs and deciding cases according to law. Washington County Circuit Court Judge Andrew F. Wilkinson was murdered outside his Maryland home in 2023.
During Tuesday’s briefing, Kocurek recounted the events surrounding the evening she was shot in the driveway of her home. She then spoke about her 40-day hospital stay and the permanent physical and emotional toll the shooting has taken on her and her family.
“If the sharing of my experience helps just one judge, my mission is accomplished,” Judge Kocurek said.
Unlike the federal judiciary, state and local judicial officers lack a centralized intelligence and resource center. The bill would create a State Judicial Threat Intelligence and Resource Center to:
• Provide technical assistance to state and local judges and court personnel around judicial security.
• Provide physical security assessments for courts, homes, and other facilities where judicial officers and staff conduct court-related business.
• Coordinate research to identify, examine, and advance best practices around judicial security.
“I cannot stress enough the critical importance of today’s discussion – the impacts of judicial threats and attacks reach far and wide. Not only do they affect the lives and physical safety of judges, court personnel, and their families, but they often pose risks to the public,” Clement said.
The House and Senate bills, H.R.4602 and S.2379, are available online in their entirety at www.congress.gov.
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