Judges’ Safety ‘Essential’ To Court System

WASHINGTON (AP) — Chief Justice John Roberts is praising programs that protect judges, saying that “we must support judges by ensuring their safety.” Roberts’ comments in an annual, year-end report about the federal judiciary follow recent security threats to the justices. Roberts and other conservative Supreme Court justices were the subject of protests, some at their homes, after the May leak of the court’s decision that ultimately stripped away constitutional protections for abortion. Justice Samuel Alito has said that the leak made conservative justices “targets for assassination.” Polls following the abortion decision show public trust in the court is at historic lows.