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Making Judges Safe

By TChris, Section Judiciary
Posted on Sat Mar 19, 2005 at 08:36:03 AM EST
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by TChris

Acts of violence against judges are an affront to the judiciary, but this federal judge makes the case that turning courthouses into prison camps isn't the solution.

[O]ne nation under guard is not the answer. Tying judicial security to the war on terrorism risks destroying the very institution we seek to defend.

The answer, instead, is to "create a sensible state of elevated awareness throughout the judiciary - not only about the need for better security but about the specific nature of the risk." As Judge Kane learned from experience, the answer is not to arm judges.

Carrying a gun made me look at everyone with an attitude that made fairness and impartiality impossible. This, in the end, is too high a price to pay for judicial security: it cannot come at the cost of justice.

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    Making Judges Safe | 8 comments (8 topical)
    Re: Making Judges Safe (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Mar 19, 2005 at 10:25:55 AM EST
    what more can anyone say about a government, the words making judges safe say it all, our nation is an empire and not of the people. Freedom for a nation under attack by its own government, i say free our nation before this government starts its camp system up for real.

    Re: Making Judges Safe (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Mar 19, 2005 at 10:32:20 AM EST
    How have the Europeans managed to remain relatively safe and Democratic? They have be under siege by terrorism ever since the cold war began.

    Re: Making Judges Safe (none / 0) (#3)
    by wg on Sat Mar 19, 2005 at 12:19:50 PM EST
    they have a full blown article published today, bit bland to be very readable but if you want to see the issue from the point of view of somewhat paranoid security system it makes a good starting point. Sadly and predictably strong implied endorsement of physical restrains. Not to harp on it but those are considered unacceptable in most civilized countries. Too demeaning or barbaric or something. -- I did learn something from it, apparently public defenders enjoy rather lousy reputation among convicted defendants, being not too lovingly called "dump truck PD". Is this a fair characterization on average? Opinions from inside the system would be particularly helpful. (Since PDs are part of the system, it is not inconceivable that the efficiency of the system is their first priority not defendant's best interest.)

    Re: Making Judges Safe (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Mar 19, 2005 at 12:39:52 PM EST
    "How have the Europeans managed to remain relatively safe and Democratic? They have be under siege by terrorism ever since the cold war began." Facetious answer: By not electing (twice) a bunch of proto-fascists who think government comes from God and the president is a monarch. Genuine answer: like everyone else, by going through a period of overreaction, suffering the results of said overreaction, and then implementing a more effective, less draconian policy. The European Convention on Human Rights, which is basically a modern Bill of Rights for the EU, helps too.

    Re: Making Judges Safe (none / 0) (#5)
    by wg on Sat Mar 19, 2005 at 08:01:29 PM EST
    ... how do they handle things over there? (warning - this could spoil your weekend) Take a look here. The defendant appears here before a German court. You see him in a defendant box with two gentlemen behind him, discreetly out of his sight but ready to intervene effectively if something goes wrong. No restrains of any kind, no monkey suit, he will be free to conduct his defense unhindered in any way. Note this is not your usual run-of-a-mill criminal case, we are talking massive damage to property and death of close to 3000 people here. In NYC on 9/11, the crime he was already found guilty of and sentenced for*. Imagine him in our courts. Now take a look here. This is our court. Much lesser crime this citizen wasn't even found guilty of yet. Preliminary hearing. Shackled, hand-cuffed, in a monkey orange garb, with a taser like device attached to his waist, ready to inject a few thousand volts into him at moment notice. Escorted by a goonish looking individual doing his best to intimidate him into total submission. He is already reduced to level far below of that of an animal in the slaughter house. Do we treat all our citizens like this? No, think OJ and the dignity he was permitted to preserve while appearing in California courts. Or take a look here. This is a gentleman who was already convicted of a serious crime appearing now in court for sentencing. Freshly pressed shirt, French cuffs, expensive well cut suit, silk tie, shaved and nicely coifed. His limo in the background. You can be sure that no latex clad government fingers were probing his rectum three times already this morning. Different strokes for different folks, to steal from that pornographic movie. ------- * he appears here for his appeal which he ultimately won.

    Re: Making Judges Safe (none / 0) (#6)
    by wg on Sat Mar 19, 2005 at 08:30:11 PM EST
    (final comment) that NYT judicial opinion piece TChris refers to above is notable for one reason at least. It confirms what many suspected for long time, namely that many judges show up for work packing*. This is so rich I'll limit myself to a few comments: a) would like to see reaction of his colleagues when they see it in London, Paris, Tokyo, etc tomorrow. Likely disbelief, followed by condescending smirks. b) we tragically lost a court reporter recently. They have the right to protect themselves too. Let them pack too. c) prosecutors. They face far higher risk of being gunned down than judges. Which is not surprising as they effectively decide vast majority of cases in this country. It follows they need to pack more badly than judges. d) what about lawyers, they have the right to defend themselves too. Let them pack too. e) what about the poor citizen trying to defend himself here. He still enjoys all his citizen's rights presumably, may feel threatened by unfamiliar and menacing crowds. I say, he has a right to pack too. Seriously, there should no room for weapons of any kind in any courtroom. Two months at least, if caught. Applied equally to all participants. ----------- * for Euro reader: packing - carrying loaded gun, usually concealed

    Re: Making Judges Safe (none / 0) (#7)
    by Dark Avenger on Sat Mar 19, 2005 at 11:24:55 PM EST
    Anyone remember the movie with Peter Weller and Sam Elliot? It had a great scene mixing lawyers and guns.

    Re: Making Judges Safe (none / 0) (#8)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sun Mar 20, 2005 at 07:52:46 AM EST
    wg, rights for the poor is a joke, and for the PD, People most are only looking for coffee money from the system. we may have a bill of rights but just try and use the bill in a court-room. Right's are for the people with the money, prison/jails/camp/stockade are for the poor no matter what that person has done or not done.

    Making Judges Safe | 8 comments (8 topical)