Chalk
up
a
rudimentary
justification
for
a
law-based
order
and
you’ll
eventually
brush
against
the
argument
that
it
allows
for
people
to
resolve
conflicts
without
resorting
to
violence.
In
a
functioning
society,
you
should
be
able
to
rely
on
a
judge
to
get
protection
from
credible
threats.
But
here,
even
our
judges
aren’t
safe;
death
could
be
waiting
behind
an
anonymous
pizza
delivery.
As
a
cringe
billionaire
and
the
President
stoke
discontent
whenever
court
rulings
don’t
go
their
way,
the
judiciary
has
been
left
on
their
own
devices
to
protect
themselves.
Those
devices
are,
of
course,
guns.
ABA
Journal
has
coverage:
[S]ome
state
judges
say
they
don’t
feel
adequately
protected,
and
some
are
carrying
guns
to
defend
themselves
if
necessary,
according
to
a
story
by
the
New
York
Times.
…
[T]here’s
no
centralized
security
force
tracking
threats
against
state
judges
or
protecting
them,
even
though
the
estimated
30,000
state
judges
handle
some
of
the
most
contentious
cases
in
the
country.
State
judges
rely
on
the
same
local
law
enforcement
that
everyone
else
does,
the
same
ones
that
have
no
legal
obligation
to
protect
you.
On
the
one
hand,
it
is
sad
to
read
that
there
are
state
judges
that
“felt
that
local
authorities
were
not
equipped
to
investigate
threats.”
On
the
other:
The
reality
is
that
despite
the
success
of
years
of
Copaganda
telling
us
otherwise,
police
haven’t
really
been
hitting
it
out
of
the
park
on
the
investigative
front.
The
declining
murder
clearance
rate
made
headlines
in
2023.
If
I
were
a
judge
facing
threats
to
my
life,
I’d
probably
be
pissed
off
to
find
out
that
the
local
police
are
making
the
most
of
their
spare
time
by
trying
to
entrap
protestors:
It
isn’t
a
good
look
for
The
People
when
their
government
can’t
even
afford
to
protect
their
own
judges.
Some
State
Judges
Turn
To
Guns
Amid
Rise
In
Threats
Against
Them
[ABA
Journal]
Chris
Williams
became
a
social
media
manager
and
assistant
editor
for
Above
the
Law
in
June
2021.
Prior
to
joining
the
staff,
he
moonlighted
as
a
minor
Memelord™
in
the
Facebook
group Law
School
Memes
for
Edgy
T14s
.
He
endured
Missouri
long
enough
to
graduate
from
Washington
University
in
St.
Louis
School
of
Law.
He
is
a
former
boat
builder
who
is
learning
to
swim
and
is
interested
in
rhetoric,
Spinozists
and
humor.
Getting
back
in
to
cycling
wouldn’t
hurt
either.
You
can
reach
him
by
email
at
[email protected]
and
by
Tweet/Bluesky
at @WritesForRent.