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Threats Against Judges Are on the Rise
The rise in civil lawsuits, especially those filed by people who do not have lawyers, and a change in criminal cases in federal courts helps explain the rise, Marshals say.
Donald Donovan, chief deputy marshal in Baltimore, said people who file and lose multiple lawsuits account for the largest percentage of threats. "They don't agree with the outcome of cases. They are repeat filers. Many of them are a bit unstable," Donovan said.
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Dealing with inappropriate comments sometimes means "assisting someone with getting back on their medication," said Donald Horton, chief inspector in the protective security division.
Federal courts now handle many more violent crime prosecutions, the sorts of cases that were the province of state and local courts as recently as 10 years ago.
"There is rarely a trial now that does not have defendants eligible for the death penalty," Donovan said.
Marshals say that even before the Chicago killings, they responded to every inappropriate communication, reasoning that they would be able to resolve a situation more quickly the earlier they interceded.
But in the aftermath of the Lefkow deaths, judges criticized the Marshals under former director Benigno Reyna as insufficiently responsive to their security. A Justice Department Inspector General's report in 2004 also pointed out shortcomings in Marshals' assessments of threats. Reyna resigned last year.
John Clark, a career marshal named by President Bush to head the Marshals Service, has expanded the number of marshals trained to investigate threats and expects to open a 24-hour assessment and analysis center later this year.
In Chicago, Prout said he is in regular contact with state and local counterparts to identify people who may be moving between courts at all levels, their frustration with the legal system rising.
The most notable change that grew out of last year's killings was the decision by Congress to set aside $12 million to install security systems in judges' homes.
About 1,700 judges have asked for the home alarms. Fewer than a third of those, about 500, have received them, Horton said.
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