Preventing Targeted Violence Against Judicial Officials and Courts

Attacks against judicial officials and the courts are rare events but carry the potential for tremendous impact on the American judiciary. In this article, the authors describe a systematic approach to prevent targeted violence against judges and their courts. They begin with a brief overview of findings from operational research on assassinations and attacks against public officials, including judges. They then review the threat assessment approach, a fact-based risk assessment method developed to prevent assassinations, and examine its utility for evaluating risk of targeted violence toward judges and courts. The authors conclude with a discussion of research recommendations to better understand and prevent targeted violence in the judiciary.