Washington — A pair of federal judges warned Tuesday of continued threats against members of the judiciary amid criticism leveled by Elon Musk and threats of impeachment by Republicans in Congress. They warned such attacks strike at judicial independence.
Judges Jeffrey Sutton and Richard Sullivan, who sit on the federal appeals courts, raised concerns about the increase in threats against judges in a call with reporters hosted by the Judicial Conference, the policymaking body for the federal judiciary.
Sullivan, who chairs the committee on judicial security, said the protection of judges and federal courthouses around the country is a top priority for the judiciary and recent cuts to the U.S. Marshals Service’s budget is a concern. The agency provides security for federal courts and judges.
“Our system of government is premised on three independent branches and a judiciary that can function independently,” he said. “That’s what makes it work, and so it’s crucial that people understand that.”
Sutton, meanwhile, said that while the types of threats against judges have evolved over time, they arise directly from the fact that they’re doing their jobs.
“We’re supposed to say what the law means, and there’s 1,000 federal judges out there, we each take that responsibility seriously,” he said, adding that judges take an oath to interpret the law neutrally and dispassionately. “It’s a shame to see people attacking judges simply for doing their level best to do their job.”
Sutton and Sullivan both noted that the justice system allows the losing party to appeal an adverse decision from the trial court to an appeals court and then the Supreme Court.
“We allocate disappointment to half the people that come before us,” Sutton said. “Criticism is no surprise. It’s part of the job. But I do think when it gets to the level of a threat, it really is about attacking judicial independence, and that’s just not good for the system or the country.”
Sutton is the chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, and Sullivan sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. Sutton was appointed by President George W. Bush, and Sullivan was named to the appeals court by President Trump during his first term.
The concerns from the two GOP-appointed judges come as Musk and allies of Mr. Trump have attacked judges who have issued preliminary rulings against the administration. Musk, who the president said is leading the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency, has called some members of the judiciary “evil” and said they should be “fired.”
In a post last month to X, the social media company he owns, Musk claimed the country is witnessing “an attempted coup of American democracy by radical left activists posing as judges” and said in another post that there “need to be some repercussions above zero for judges who make truly terrible decisions.”
Republicans in the House have also introduced impeachment resolutions against U.S. District Judges Paul Engelmayer, Amir Ali and John Bates because of decisions they dislike, which were issued in the early stages of legal challenges to Mr. Trump’s policies.
The impeachment efforts are unlikely to succeed. Just 15 federal judges have been impeached by the House and eight were convicted by the Senate and removed from office, according to the Federal Judicial Center.
“Threats to judges are threats to judicial independence. They’ve been around for a long time. There’s lots of different mechanisms. Threats of impeachment — this is not the first time this has happened,” Sutton said. “One thing worth keeping in mind is if we dilute the standards for impeachment, that’s not just a problem for judges, that’s a problem for all three branches of government.”
Sullivan said that amid the evolving threat landscape, and as there are more threats to judges, public officials must be responsible in their comments about the system of justice.
“The reality is that there are a lot of folks who will respond and react perhaps inappropriately based on something they heard or read, and so, I just think it’s important for everyone to be responsible in what they say about our process,” he said.
Chief Justice John Roberts separately spoke of the importance of preserving judicial independence in his year-end report closing out 2024. He highlighted four areas that he said threatened the independence of judges: violence, intimidation, disinformation and threats to defy lawfully entered judgments.
When it comes to protecting judges from threats, the federal judiciary’s Vulnerability Management Program provided services to more than 1,700 judges, 114 retired judges and 235 family members last year, according to the Judicial Conference’s annual report, released Tuesday.
The program was established after Congress passed legislation responding to the 2020 killing of the son of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas at her home in New Jersey. The gunman found the judge’s address, pictures of her house and vehicle information online.
The measure, signed into law by former President Joe Biden in 2022, aims to make it more difficult to find judges’ personal information on the internet.
