Latest news with #federaljudges
Washington Post
3 days ago
- General
- Washington Post
Trump's law firm sanctions, harshly rejected in court, still have impact
President Donald Trump's attempts to punish law firms that employed his perceived foes or handled cases he disliked have been bitingly rejected by courts, with three federal judges lambasting them as retaliatory and unconstitutional. Trump has lashed out at multiple firms in his second term, moving to strip their government contracts, suspend employees' security clearances and block their access to federal buildings and officials.
Washington Post
5 days ago
- General
- Washington Post
Sharp spike in threats to judges prompts calls for more security
A spike in threats against federal judges since President Donald Trump took office is prompting calls for new funding and security measures, with current and former jurists, lawmakers, and law enforcement officials saying existing protections are not enough. The U.S. Marshals Service investigated 373 separate threats to judges in the first five months of 2025, compared with 509 probes all of last year, according to agency data that U.S. District Judge Esther Salas of New Jersey shared with The Washington Post. The threats targeted 277 judges, some of whom were threatened more than once, compared with 379 judges threatened in all of 2024.
Washington Post
6 days ago
- General
- Washington Post
Supreme Court walks a tightrope as it confronts Trump's power moves
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. is navigating a fraught path, legal analysts say, trying to avert a direct confrontation between the Trump administration and a Supreme Court that has steadily expanded presidential power — but not without limits. The stakes are as high as any time in Roberts's 20-year tenure. He is committed to protecting the independence of the courts to 'check the excesses of Congress or the executive,' as he said recently, amid attacks by President Donald Trump and his allies on federal judges, including the justices.
Bloomberg
6 days ago
- General
- Bloomberg
Complex Mexican Vote May Be a Double-Edged Sword
By and Maya Averbuch Save Welcome to Balance of Power, bringing you the latest in global politics. If you haven't yet, sign up here. Mexicans head to the polls this weekend to elect the country's federal judges for the first time, the culmination of a controversial judicial overhaul pushed by former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
New York Times
27-05-2025
- General
- New York Times
Marshals' Data Shows Spike in Threats Against Federal Judges
Threats against federal judges have risen drastically since President Trump took office, according to internal data compiled by the U.S. Marshals Service. In the five-month period leading up to March 1 of this year, 80 individual judges had received threats, the data shows. Then, over the next six weeks, an additional 162 judges received threats, a dramatic increase. That spike in threats coincided with a flood of harsh rhetoric — often from Mr. Trump himself — criticizing judges who have ruled against the administration and, in some cases, calling on Congress to impeach them. Many judges have already spoken out, worrying about the possibility of violence and urging political leaders to tone things down. Since mid-April, the pace of the threats has slowed slightly, the data shows. Between April 14 and May 27, it shows 35 additional individual judges received threats. Still, the total number of judges threatened this fiscal year — 277 — represents roughly a third of the judiciary. The threat data was not released publicly but was provided to The New York Times by Judge Esther Salas of Federal District Court for New Jersey, who said she obtained it from the Marshals Service, which is tasked by law with overseeing security for the judiciary. In 2020, Judge Salas' son, Daniel Anderl, was shot and killed at the entrance of her home by a self-described 'anti-feminist' lawyer, and since then she has advocated judicial safety. 'This has nothing to do with hysteria or hyperbole,' she said in an interview. 'These numbers tell a dramatic story. They show a spike that ought to be alarming and concerning to everyone.' Spokesmen for the White House and the marshals did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The marshals define a threat as 'any action or communication, whether explicit or implied, of intent to assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimidate or interfere' with any marshals-protected person, including federal judges, according to an internal document reviewed by The Times. That language mirrors a federal statute that treats as criminals those who interfere with federal officials performing their duties. Threats against judges have been rising in recent years, including before Mr. Trump took office. Marshals Service data shows there were threats against more than 400 individual judges in 2023, the year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and eliminated the constitutional right to an abortion. In June 2022, after the Supreme Court's ruling on Roe leaked, an armed man tried to assassinate Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh at his home. A series of judges have blocked Mr. Trump's sweeping executive actions, including his efforts to deliver on his campaign promise of mass deportations. Last week, a federal judge in Boston ordered the United States to maintain custody of a group of deportees whom the administration is trying to send to South Sudan, and to bring back another deportee now in hiding in Guatemala. Mr. Trump called the judge, Brian E. Murphy, a 'far-left activist' and then broadened his attack on Monday, condemning 'USA hating judges who suffer from an ideology that is sick, and very dangerous for our country,' in a social media post rendered in all capital letters. Some judges who have ruled against the administration have received unwelcome pizza deliveries at their homes, and at the homes of their family members. The authorities are investigating the matter. Judge Salas said she had learned from the marshals that 103 pizzas had been sent anonymously, including 20 in the name of her dead son.
