Federal Judges

Judges Standing Up For Other Judges In The Wake Of Political Personal Attacks

Judges will no longer tolerate this absurdity.

Judges have historically been reluctant to respond to unfair attacks. But as far back as Chief Justice John Marshall, there have been times when judges have seen the need to speak up. This is one of those times.

The leaders of the American Judges Association will speak out in defense of judges who are unfairly attacked, and we encourage others to do so too. Unfair or unseemly attacks on individual judges are not merely an attack on that individual judge—they are an attack on the institution of the judiciary, an institution indispensable to our democracy.

— An excerpt from a statement released by the American Judges Association, encouraging members to defend judges who have been victims of “intemperate personal attacks.” The AJA statement goes on to note that attacks that have been made on judges in recent months are not only “unhealthy,” but “threaten to undermine the public’s understanding of the role of judges in a democratic society.”


Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky has been an editor at Above the Law since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.