The Judicial Conference raised concerns about security, funding and the need for more judgeships during a press conference on Tuesday and chastised a recent move to impeach judges over their rulings.
Judge Richard Sullivan, who chairs the Judicial Conference’s judicial security committee, said that technology has made threats to judges an increasing problem and that investigating them relies on cooperation with the U.S. Marshals Service.
“The security of judges and courthouses is a top priority for the judiciary,” said Judge Sullivan, who sits on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. “The nature of threats requires an evolving response.”
The U.S. Marshals have seen budget cuts in recent years, and a government shutdown looming in just days also plagues the future of the judiciary.
Sixth U.S. Circuit Chief Judge Jeffrey Sutton said the courts are funded for three weeks beyond Friday’s deadline for Congress to fund the government.
“The thing I do know is we have three weeks worth of funds after Friday that we are assured of and then after that we will find out,” said Judge Sutton, who is chairman of the Judicial Conference’s executive committee.
Judge Sutton said he is unaware of any move to close courthouses as part of the Trump administration’s bid to thin the federal government and excess spending, led by Elon Musk’s support for the Department of Government Efficiency.
Mr. Musk has also called to impeach judges on his social media platform X as a way to restore democracy.
For the past several weeks, judges have been handling challenges to President Trump’s agenda, as more than 100 lawsuits have been filed looking to curtail his moves to fire people, pause spending, and change immigration policy.
“The only way to restore rule of the people in America is to impeach judges. No one is above the law, including judges,” Mr. Musk’s post read.
An Arizona Republican lawmaker took up the invitation, filing articles of impeachment against U.S. District Court Judge Paul Engelmayer, who temporarily blocked DOGE from accessing Treasury Department records.
Judges Sutton and Sullivan each said he was concerned about threats to impeach a judge for his rulings, saying there is an appeal process that allows people who disagree with a decision to take it up the chain.
“Impeachment shouldn’t be a short circuiting of that process,” Judge Sullivan said and Judge Sutton called such moves “threats to judicial independence.”
The Judicial Conference also announced Tuesday in a press release that it is seeking 71 judgeships to meet increasing caseloads — two posts for circuit courts and 69 for district courts.
District court filings have grown 30% since 1990, according to its press release.
Last year, Congress passed a law creating 60 extra federal judgeships but President Biden vetoed it before leaving office.
