Court Security

Trial opens for suspect whose multiple email threats include ‘skinning’ federal judge

A series of threatening emails sent to the Northern District of California last year included “skinning U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer” and accused judges from the Golden State of being “enemy combatants.”

Nov 4, 2026 12:47 PM CST

Judiciary efforts to create rules for AI stalling amid concerns

Judiciary efforts to create rules for artificial intelligence use in the courts have been stalled amid concerns over the feasibility of reaching consensus on how the issues should be handled.

Nov 4, 2026 11:29 AM CST

Court finds law protecting judges, officers’ personal information unconstitutional

A West Virginia law shielding the online publication of personal information belonging to judges and law enforcement officers was ruled unconstitutional by a federal appeals court Tuesday.

Oct 28, 2026 1:59 PM CDT

Ethics complaint filed against judge who had attorney jailed, shackled for ‘attitude’

A former Massachusetts state court judge had a public defender jailed and placed in handcuffs and shackles for hours over his “attitude” during a hearing last year, the state’s judicial conduct commission said.

Oct 26, 2026 9:34 AM CDT

Federal judiciary considers broadcasting federal trials to crime victims

The U.S. Judicial Conference’s ‌Advisory Committee on Criminal Rules is weighing creation of an exception to the ban on TV and audio broadcasts of trials to allow victims to watch the proceedings remotely.

Oct 16, 2026 10:18 AM CDT

Cybersecurity incident disrupts federal bankruptcy courts

A cybersecurity breach affecting the British aerospace company BAE Systems has also led to issues within the U.S. bankruptcy court system.

Oct 16, 2026 9:54 AM CDT

Judge censured following ‘little experiment’ in court with gun, stapler

A “little experiment” involving a stapler and a handgun in court has led to a censure for a judge in the New York City Criminal Court.

Oct 14, 2026 11:13 AM CDT

Judge’s CPR rescue leads to courthouse training

The 67th District Court in Flint, Michigan, had a CPR training Monday for court employees following Michigan Judge Herman Marable Jr.’s experience last October, when he saved a man’s life with the skills that he first learned as a child.

Oct 13, 2026 9:48 AM CDT

Man who threatened Supreme Court justices avoids prison time

An Alaska man who sent hundreds of messages threatening the U.S. Supreme Court justices was sentenced to three years of supervised release, avoiding prison time.

Oct 9, 2026 9:34 AM CDT

Arizona’s court system hit by cyberattack

Personal information for 1.3 million people was stolen late last month through a cyberattack on Arizona’s court system, thought to have been launched when a court employee clinked a link in an email.

Oct 8, 2026 11:12 AM CDT

Best Judgment: Judges blast lawyers for citing hallucinated cases, but ethics pros say rule changes not needed

It seems hardly a day goes by without a story about an attorney citing hallucinated cases. Public humiliation—including court orders with scoldings and fines—is often part of the details, as well as getting fired. But perhaps the worst part is being known as the lawyer who submitted fake cases and didn’t bother to check their work.

Oct 1, 2026 1:55 AM CDT

Under Fire: Now more than ever, judges are the targets of attacks that largely result from their case rulings

Across the country, state and federal judges say they face an increasing number of threats, physical violence, misinformation campaigns, swatting and even a recent phenomenon dubbed “pizza doxxing”—unsolicited pizza deliveries authorities say are “we-know-where-you-live” warnings.

Oct 1, 2026 12:45 AM CDT

Dec. 14, 1982: Conviction in murder of federal judge

Charles Voyde Harrelson was on the lam when he was arrested on a West Texas roadside just outside of the town of Van Horn. He arrived in a borrowed Corvette, and when local officers showed up, he was standing shirtless, tripping hard on cocaine, holding a gun to his head and babbling his confession to the murder of John F. Kennedy and, what proved more significant, the assassination of a federal judge.

Oct 1, 2026 12:05 AM CDT

Could the use of AI upend privacy and security expectations in court?

As AI becomes more powerful and users become more savvy, will this sort of sleuthing become more frequent in the future? Legal experts say yes, especially since it was already happening long before AI.

Sep 29, 2026 11:10 AM CDT

Home addresses of federal judges available online, new report says

Federal judges’ home addresses are available online, according to a new report, despite a judicial security law intended to protect their information as they face escalating threats.

Sep 4, 2026 10:10 AM CDT