Tag: attacks on judges

The judges among us — revisited

Yesterday, Judge Raymond Myles was shot and killed outside his home in Chicago’s Far South Side.  Police are still searching for a suspect and a motive, although it appears that his death may have simply been the result of attempted robbery.

We are attuned to stories of judges being threatened or attacked because of their profession.  And such threats, whether explicit or otherwise, are taken very seriously.  But this story, where it appears the victim just happened to be a judge, reminds us that members of the judiciary live among us.  When they take off their robes and leave the courthouse for the day, they are ordinary members of society with the same needs for food, clothing, security, and happiness as the rest of us.

Six years ago, after Judge John Roll was killed in the same Arizona shooting that terribly injured Gabby Giffords, I shared some similar thoughts.

My deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Judge Myles.

UK judges address attacks by populist press

The High Court of England and Wales ruled in November that the United Kingdom could not trigger “Brexit” without parliamentary assent.  The decision was affirmed in January, but anger about the additional procedural requirement remained. Now, the members of the High Court are now speaking out about the nature of the attacks leveled on them by the British press in the wake of the ruling.

Key bit:

“Criticism is very healthy. If you have got something wrong, fine, but there is a difference between criticism and abuse,” Thomas told the same committee a week ago.  “It’s the only time in the whole of my judicial career that I’ve had to ask for the police to give us a measure of advice and protection in relation to the emotions that were being stirred up,” he said.