PHOENIX -- Attorney General Mark Brnovich is calling on U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to enforce federal law to stop attempts to intimidate U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) Justices after groups of protesters have gathered outside their homes.
General Brnovich co-wrote a letter with 24 other attorneys general stating: “Following last week’s leak of a draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, pro-abortion activists have begun protesting not just outside the Supreme Court, but outside the Justices’ homes, in the hope of pressuring the Justices to change their votes. As a former federal judge and the current head of the Department of Justice, you must surely appreciate the unique risks to both judges and the rule of law when judges are targeted at their homes. That is why Congress has long barred ‘picket[ing] or parad[ing]’ near a judge’s home ‘with the intent of interfering with, obstructing, or impeding the administration of justice.’ We the undersigned Attorneys General act daily to uphold the rule of law. These remarkable recent events provide you an opportunity to do the same.”
The attorneys general also noted in their letter that Garland was not previously shy in using his authority to address a “threat” of parents voicing their opinions to school boards. Yet, when SCOTUS Justices and their families are being illegally harassed at their homes, he has remained silent.
Attorney General Brnovich was joined by attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming in writing the letter to Attorney General Garland.
You can read the AGs’ letter here.
General Brnovich believes all judges should be protected from this kind of behavior. In 2020, General Brnovich co-led a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general who urged Congress to pass legislation to protect the safety of federal judges and their families.
