Seems they're more worried about the threat of gun-toting sociopaths than any political attack:
Justices defend court's independenceWed Apr 13, 9:53 AM ET
By Joan Biskupic, USA TODAY
Supreme Court Justices Anthony Kennedy and Clarence Thomas on Tuesday defended the independence of federal judges and suggested that criticism such as that directed at the federal bench recently by Republican leaders in Congress is simply part of the democratic process.
The justices' comments came during a congressional hearing on the Supreme Court's budget that turned into an unusually wide-ranging discussion of the role of judges. Thomas noted that federal judges are appointed for life, which means that although they might be criticized by politicians, the judges are insulated from real retribution.
"I think the reason we have lifetime appointments is that we are supposed to be criticized," Thomas said.
The justices' two-hour appearance before a House Appropriations subcommittee gave them a chance to respond generally to a series of complaints about the federal bench. Such complaints have escalated recently as some Republicans in Congress have blasted federal judges for not intervening in the case of Terri Schiavo, the brain-damaged woman in Florida who died March 31 after a state judge ordered her feeding tube removed.
"The time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior," said House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, who referred to a "judiciary run amok." Sen. John Cornyn (news, bio, voting record), R-Texas, has criticized judges who make "political decisions yet are unaccountable to the public."
DeLay was a leading supporter of unusual legislation that Congress passed to allow Schiavo's parents to make a final appeal to a federal court to try to stop Schiavo's husband, Michael, from having the feeding tube removed. Federal courts, including the Supreme Court, declined to intervene.
Kennedy said criticism of the federal bench is part of "the democratic dialogue," and he dismissed a suggestion by Rep. Todd Tiahrt (news, bio, voting record), R-Kan., that the Supreme Court should be concerned about public dissatisfaction with its decisions. Kennedy noted that the most controversial rulings begin with dissent among the justices themselves.
Kennedy and Thomas also emphasized the need for more security at the high court, in part to protect against threats to the nine justices and others in the court's marble building
The court's proposed budget of $66 million for next year includes money to add 11 police officers to the court's current squad of about 130. One new officer would assess threats made against the justices.
Thomas said he believes the Internet has helped critics of various rulings incite anger at the justices. Explaining why he thinks that the court needs more police officers, Thomas said, "I think we have been on borrowed time for a long time."
Separately, the Judicial Conference of the United States, which handles budget requests for lower federal courts, asked Congress for $12 million to install home-security systems for the more than 800 federal judges. The request follows the slayings of the husband and mother of federal judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow of Chicago.
Kennedy said it had not been determined whether the home-security request would cover Supreme Court justices.
Tuesday's session was marked by a collegiality that contrasted with the recent rhetoric by DeLay and Cornyn. Rep. Ed Pastor (news, bio, voting record), D-Ariz., said he disagrees with many high court rulings, but he said he respects the justices' independence.
Tiahrt, the only panel member who criticized rulings by the high court, said he was concerned that the court has cited international law in rulings. "Lately we've had rulings that seem to go beyond the rule of law," he said, referring particularly to a decision last month that struck down the death penalty for those who committed their crimes as juveniles.
Kennedy wrote the court's opinion in that case, a decision in which he noted that the USA was virtually alone in the world in allowing executions of juvenile offenders. As Tiahrt spoke Tuesday, Kennedy showed no emotion, and he did not respond directly to Tiahrt's criticism. Kennedy did, however, note the court's history of dealing with controversial issues.
altho it's interesting that they never address whether they thought any criticisms were valid, any possible motivations for such, or whether such criticisms could be made in such a way to incite such security threats.
― kingfish, Wednesday, 13 April 2005 17:43 (twenty years ago)