Ed. note: Welcome to our daily feature, Quote of the Day.
I don’t think being a federal judge is a job for the fainthearted… What I probably did not expect to quite this degree is the level of vitriol and the types of violent threats that have come across my desk over the years.
Here’s one that resulted in an indictment against the person who sent the message: ‘You’re dead, or I’ll put a bullet in your head in the middle of your kitchen without you seeing it coming, or expecting it. Casket coming soon. Don’t go home. You’ll never know when I’ll pop up. I’ll guarantee, I will kill you. Think I’m playing? Casket dreams, sweetheart.‘
— Chief Judge Dolly M. Gee of the Central District of California, the first Chinese American woman to serve as an Article III judge, in comments given during a panel hosted by Speak Up for Justice, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to the defense of the rule of law and judicial independence. During the panel, Judges Gee, Ana Reyes (D.D.C.), Michelle Williams Court (C.D. Cal.), and Mark S. Norris (W.D. Tenn.) went on the record to describe the death threats, doxing, and intimidation they’ve faced on the bench. Watch their discussion, below.
Staci Zaretsky is the managing editor of Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Bluesky, X/Twitter, and Threads, or connect with her on LinkedIn.
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