The bill, the 2022 Supreme Court Police Parity Act, was passed by the Senate last month and is now being addressed to President Joe Biden to be signed into law. It would allow the families of Supreme Court justices to be covered by the security it currently offers jurists if the Supreme Court marshal “determines that such protection is necessary,” according to the text of the legislation.
But seven New Jersey Democrats wanted protections to include federal judges, after U.S. District Judge Esther Salas’ son was killed in a shooting at his home in the state in 2020. Although the final measure it does not include this language, it does allow the marshal. of the Supreme Court to give security to “any official” on the bench if the marshal deems it necessary.
Members of the New Jersey House who voted against the bill are Bonnie Watson Coleman, Albio Sires, Mikie Sherrill, Donald M. Payne Jr., Bill Pascrell Jr., Tom Malinowski and Josh Gottheimer. Some of the more liberal members of the Democratic caucus also voted against the bill.
Security guards surrounding the high court received further attention after the Justice Department arrested a man near the home of Judge Brett Kavanaugh in Maryland in early June and charged him with attempted or threatening murder. kidnapping or murdering an American judge.
For the seven members of the New Jersey House who voted against the act on Tuesday, the Salas tragedy served as a clear reason to expand the scope of the measure.
Since his son’s death nearly two years ago, Salas has pushed for more protections for current and former federal judges, including legislation to protect his or her privacy and the privacy of his or her families while preserving personal data, such as home and vehicle information from databases and public. records.
Speaking to CNN last week, he stressed the need for more protections for federal judges, noting the recent death of a Wisconsin judge in what appeared to be a targeted attack.
“My reaction is a heartache. My heart is broken. Another family will have to endure what Mark and I have been through for 23 months,” Salas told CNN. “It doesn’t make sense. It’s dangerous. And we need to start protecting judges across this country.”
“Many judges have lost their lives to do one thing: their job, to defend democracy,” he said. “Seriously, the judges are at the forefront of ensuring that democracy is, as you know, alive and well in our country.”
The U.S. Marshals Service has reported an increase in threats to judges in recent years. Threats and inappropriate comments made to the judiciary almost doubled between 2016 and 2018 and have remained high – about 4,500 in 2021 – since then, according to the Commissioners’ Service. U.S. Marshals are tasked with protecting some 2,700 judges, as well as 30,000 federal prosecutors and court officials.
CNN’s Clare Foran, Kristin Wilson, Annie Grayer, Eric Levenson, and Boris Sanchez contributed to this report.