Federal and state judges in the United States are facing an alarming rise in threats, from physical violence to cyberattacks. These attacks erode both judges’ personal security and safety as well as public trust in the judiciary — the bedrock of our democracy that ensures the rule of law applies equally to everyone.
In 2024, David F. Levi, president of the American Law Institute and director emeritus of the Bolch Judicial Institute, moderated a discussion with Paul W. Grimm (Bolch Judicial Institute of Duke Law), Thomas Griffith (Harvard Law School), Nathan L. Hecht (Texas Supreme Court), Bridget Mary McCormack (American Arbitration Association-International Centre for Dispute Resolution), and Suzanne Spaulding (Center for Strategic & International Studies) on how to address the growing crisis of attacks on judges and the judiciary.
Their conversation was recorded at a time when threats directed at U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the killing of Judge Esther Salas’ son, and fake anthrax mailed to federal judges were top of mind. But the key issues identified in their discussion are just as relevant today.
Key themes of the discussion included:
- Cybersecurity threats targeting both court systems and judges’ personal information.
- Judicial elections becoming increasingly politicized, even in nonpartisan races.
- Misinformation and public distrust, amplified by social media and partisan narratives.
- Threats from public officials, with inflammatory rhetoric further undermining confidence in the courts.
They also shared ideas for solutions to the challenges they identified, including:
- Strengthening security against both physical and cyber threats.
- Using public information campaigns and officers to counter attacks on judicial legitimacy.
- Increasing civics education programming to build trust in the judiciary.
- Encouraging direct judicial outreach and communication by judges to educate the public in process.
Learn more
- Read the conversation in Judicature Vol. 108 No. 2 (2024), a journal published by the Bolch Judicial Institute of Duke Law
- Listen to the conversation on the Judgment Calls podcast, published as a joint episode of the American Law Institute’s podcast Reasonably Speaking.
- Visit the Defending the Judiciary page on our website for additional information and resources.