Defending the Judiciary

The Bolch Judicial Institute’s Defending the Judiciary Initiative is a national effort to engage the legal profession in defending judges and the judiciary from unjust and unsubstantiated attacks, protecting judicial independence, and bolstering public understanding about the role and responsibilities of the judicial branch.

With a broad coalition of bar organizations, judicial representatives, law firms, law students, and others, the Institute is leading efforts to

• support and strengthen broad public outreach efforts designed to improve public understanding of and trust in the judicial branch;
• create and support opportunities for courts, judges, lawyers, and law students to lead civics education initiatives focusing on the judicial branch and the rule of law;
• and build a clearinghouse for sharing ideas, information, and strategies that organizations and individuals can use in their own efforts to support and strengthen the judicial branch and the rule of law.

To get involved, please fill out this interest form.

Why do we need to defend the judiciary?

The strength of our democratic government depends on the public’s respect for and adherence to the rule of law. For that to occur, the public must have faith and confidence in all three branches of government, but especially in judges and the judiciary.

That support has been eroding at a concerning rate in recent years. At the same time, unwarranted and unfair attacks on state and federal judges have dramatically increased. According to recent reports, the United States Marshals’ Service documented 408 credible and serious threats against judges from October through June 2025. This doesn’t include threats against state judges, which are not uniformly tracked. Judges also are being subjected to vituperative, inaccurate, and intimidating verbal attacks by individuals who disagree with the rulings these judges have made. Some of these attacks are made by elected officials — on both sides of the political spectrum.

Why are these threats so problematic?

Debate over and criticism of court rulings is protected by the First Amendment — and, as Chief Justice John Roberts, Jr., wrote in his 2024 report on the judiciary, such criticism is essential to improving policy and strengthening our democracy. But, he wrote, threats of violence, intimidation, disinformation, and threats to defy lawfully entered judgments “threaten the independence of judges on which the rule of law depends.” These sorts of attacks and threats imperil that independence by intimidating judges and stoking public distrust of the judiciary.

The challenge of protecting judicial security and independence is made more difficult by the public’s general lack of knowledge about — and trust in — the judiciary. Headlines about court decisions often emphasize partisan views and quote political leaders but do not explain the process of judicial decision-making, which is bound by law, precedent, and policy, or why judicial independence — a judge’s ability to make decisions without fear of reprisal or influence from outside forces — is so important to our democracy.

What can we do?

Judges are ethically prohibited from speaking about the cases assigned to them and therefore cannot speak in their own defense. But lawyers can do something — and in fact are ethically obligated to do so. Comment 3 to Rule 8.2 of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Responsibility states that “[t]o maintain the fair and independent administration of justice, lawyers are encouraged to continue traditional efforts to defend judges and courts unjustly criticized.” And, judges are able to participate in efforts to educate the public about the courts and the judicial branch. In fact, in his 2019 report on the judiciary, Chief Justice John Roberts explicitly called upon judges to promote public faith in the courts by engaging in civics education and by fulfilling their constitutional obligation to the best of their ability:

I ask my judicial colleagues to continue their efforts to promote public confidence in the judiciary, both through their rulings and through civic outreach. We should celebrate our strong and independent judiciary, a key source of national unity and stability. But we should also remember that justice is not inevitable. We should reflect on our duty to judge without fear or favor, deciding each matter with humility, integrity, and dispatch.

Additional Resources

To learn more about the Defending the Judiciary Initiative and to get involved, please see these resources:

• How-To Guide for Defending the Judiciary — strategies for judges, lawyers, and legislators
• 2024 Bolch Judicial Institute Conference on Defending the Judiciary
• Repository of resources — educational materials, statements, guidelines, reports from partner organizations

Related news and publications:

• Podcast: Judges Under Siege
• Judicature: Current Challenges Facing the Judiciary
• Judicature: Mobilizing the Legal Profession to Defend the Judiciary
• Judicature: Staying Safe: Five Steps Judges Can Take Now
• Judicature: Special Edition: Courts and Civics Education
• Judicature: The Withering of Public Confidence in Courts
• Bolch Institute: Civics Break — a short course on the judicial branch