Chris Coons (D-Del.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Reps. Six weeks later, that question was partially answered in the negative - as in, the justices should not have lower reporting standards - when President Biden signed a bill authored by Sens. On the positive side, advocates seem to have support from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and leading members of the House and Senate Judiciary committees. In March, Pelosi signaled her views by rhetorically asking at a press conference, “Why should they” - meaning the Supreme Court - “have lower standards than members of Congress in terms of reporting and all the rest?” On transparency, there remains an unjustifiable gap between the information provided to the public by lawmakers regarding their free travel and gifts and what judges and justices provide. But these are issues that lawmakers can work out as they seek to accomplish the larger goal of a better protected branch. This approach is not without disagreement, as civil libertarians have pointed out the legislation might constitute government censorship of speech about judges. Similar bills, albeit with fewer PII categories, were signed into law in Illinois and New Jersey after violence against judges occurred in those states. The theory is that this type of information might be used by would-be assailants to harm judges or their families. On the legislative front, a bipartisan group of lawmakers are seeking a new authority that would permit judges to sue individuals who, following a written request, refuse to take down a judge’s personally identifiable information (PII) from the Internet, like their home address, personal e-mail or social security number. On security, there are several administrative ways to make judges safer, from improving their taxpayer-funded home security systems to adding smarter security barriers at courthouses. This fall’s lame-duck session presents an opportune time to tackle these challenges together. Since no official imbued with such power is exempt from the temptation of corruption, laws promoting judicial accountability must be strengthened. Threats against Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Brett Kavanaugh have been reported, and our federal judges must be able to do their jobs without fear of violence.Īt the same time, these jurists have amassed more power than at any era in recent memory. The son of a judge in New Jersey was murdered by a man who sought to harm that judge. Threats against federal judges have reached record highs. The judiciary right now is at a critical juncture.
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