Page 86 - ACTL Journal Win24

Criticism from members of Congress is not new either. Many of us remember Congressman Gerald Ford’s efforts to im- peach Justice William O. Douglas and other attacks on the so-called “activist” Warren court. Some may also remember Congressman Tom DeLay in 2005 criticizing Judge George Greer in the Terry Schiavo case, calling him a terrorist and murderer and a symbol of “an arrogant, out of control, judi- ciary.” But what concerns most is that the number of attacks on judges has grown exponentially, and the attacks have be- come more partisan, more personal, more threatening, and more purposefully misleading than ever before.
As a candidate for president in 2016, Donald Trump ac- cused U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel of being biased against him because of the judge’s Mexican heritage and because he had been appointed by President Obama. Things only accelerated after Mr. Trump won the election. When U.S. District Judge James Robart in Seattle enjoined the president’s travel ban, President Trump referred to him as a “so-called judge,” who is “taking law enforcement away from our country.” When the Ninth Circuit affirmed Judge Robart’s decision, President Trump called the appellate de- cision “disgraceful” and “political.” He later leveled person- al attacks against three other federal judges in California
– Judge Jon Tigar, Judge William Alsup, and Judge William Orrick, and called the Ninth Circuit “a complete and total disaster,” saying, “it is out of control.”
This is not new. There have been politicians throughout history – from both political parties – who have been among the transgressors. But President Trump’s personal attacks on the integrity and motives of individual judges have become ever more personal, vicious, false and mis- leading. He has said of Southern District of New York District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan – the judge in the E. Jean Carroll defamation case – that the judge is “a Clinton appointed judge” who hates Donald Trump “more than is humanly possible.” He has said my colleague, Judge Tanya Chutkan, “obviously wants me behind bars,” and
“she’s running election interference against Trump.” He said New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, who oversees the Stormy Daniels hush money case, “ob- viously hates me” and has a “Trump-hating wife.” He has called Judge Arthur Engoron, who is presiding over the civil fraud case involving the Trump organization’s proper- ties in New York, “a far-left Democrat” who is “just a bad guy.” And he continued: “He’s interfering with an election, and it’s a disgrace.” Judge Engoron, he said, is a “vicious, biased, and mean rubber stamp for the Communist take- over” of Trump’s companies.
Sadly, examples of direct threats to judges now abound. In 2019, while my colleague Judge Amy Berman Jackson was presiding over the Roger Stone case, Mr. Stone post- ed a photo of her on Instagram with the image of cross- hairs next to her head. While Mr. Stone later deleted it, within minutes it had been viewed by hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people. In 2020, while presiding over the trial of General Michael Flynn, my colleague Judge Em- met Sullivan received a voicemail graphically threatening to kill the judge and his staff, and also threatening mem- bers of his family.
President Trump was not alone. In March 2020, then-Minority Leader Senator Chuck Schumer said: “I want to tell you Gorsuch, I want to tell you Kavanaugh – you have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price. You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions.”
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