American judges are under attack. Approximately one-third of the federal judiciary have received threats over the last year, and the U.S. Marshals Service reports more than 500 threats were made against federal judges over the past 11 months, with a noticeable spike in recent months. The sheer number of threats, including to judges’ families, are unprecedented.
Many attempts to intimidate and harass judges have come from high-ranking members of the executive branch, especially when judges make decisions that run contrary to the administration’s policy goals. Democratic politicians and commentators are not above the fray either, sometimes lobbing ad hominin attacks against justices of the U.S. Supreme Court with whom they disagree.
It thus might be tempting to write this off as nothing more than the blusterous politics of the moment. Concerns about protecting the independence of the judiciary have existed in prior administrations, both Democratic and Republican. But this is something of a different and darker order. The scope and intensity of the rhetoric is accelerating, some public officials are transparently seeking to delegitimize the judiciary, and rulings reminding the administration of its constitutional limits go ignored.
This is an assault on the very foundation of our legal system — and it should alarm us all.
It’s not enough to collectively condemn attempts to undermine the judiciary and this critical feature of our system of checks and balances; we also need to support lawyers and others who step up and affirmatively defend judges under attack.
As lawyers, legal educators and the leaders of the Association of American Law Schools, we know that teaching the next generation of legal professionals the importance of respect for the courts and the rule of law is critical. An independent judiciary, coupled with a well-functioning legal profession not hesitant to do its job — including holding the government to account — is core to any democracy and essential for a well-functioning economy. That’s true now, it was true with previous administrations, and it will be true in the future.
Make no mistake: what’s occurring in high-profile cases risks having ripple effects in other federal, state and local courts. Our legal system depends on judicial independence and integrity, and it doesn’t function if judges are targets of crass political opportunism. Attempts to intimidate and undermine judges threatens a crisis of legitimacy even on issues that have nothing to do with national politics, jeopardizing well-functioning courts serving families, local governments, organizations and businesses of all sizes.
Last year, just under 750,000 cases were pending in federal district court, while 60-70 million cases are handled each year in state court. These matters range from family law, contracts, property and employment disputes and personal injury to issues of healthcare, education, wills, trusts, insurance and probate, as well as traffic and criminal violations. Even transactional attorneys know that their contractual work fundamentally ties back to the rule of law upheld by an independent judiciary. It’s the bedrock of the legal system.
While courts do, at times, address weighty constitutional issues, even on less lofty matters they serve as arbiters of individual rights to ensure the government doesn’t overreach. That’s the job. It’s hard work. And most judges, almost all the time, do it honorably and with a great deal of integrity.
For the system to work, we need judges who are fair, community-minded and guided by integrity — not by politics. That’s why many states prioritize competence and character over ideology when making appointments. But ongoing attacks on the judiciary discourage qualified candidates to consider the bench, even as judicial vacancies remain widespread.
As lawyers, we have both a professional and a personal obligation to defend judges under attack. We must loudly call on the administration, members of Congress and political commentators to cease threatening and intimidating judges. We need leaders and their staff to put a stop to behavior that, until recently, would never have been tolerated. We understand the challenges for law firms that are under unprecedented attack too, but maintaining the independence of the judiciary and the legal profession is non-negotiable.
This will require law schools, bar associations, law firms, legal organizations and lawyers of all stripes to better convey the strength of our judiciary, highlight the critical contributions judges make to our communities, and correct the record when misinformation is circulated. Lawyers must push back when judges are called “corrupt” or “activist” for simply doing their job and following established law. And it’s a moment that calls for all of us to reject violent threats and ad hominin attacks on judges and the courts.
When we were sworn in to the bar, we made an oath to support the Constitution. Now that oath is being put to the test, and each and every one of us needs to stand up for fundamental principles of our legal system. The courts and our country depend on it.
Kellye Y. Testy is executive director and CEO of the Association of American Law Schools, a nonprofit association consisting of more than 190 U.S. law schools. Austen Parrish is president of the Association of American Law Schools, and the current dean and Chancellor’s Professor of Law at the University of California, Irvine School of Law.
