CHARLESTON — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey joined 24 other state AGs in calling on U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to enforce a federal law against attempts to intimidate U.S. Supreme Court Justices by protesting outside the justices’ homes.
The AGs want Garland to take action to enforce federal law protecting Supreme Court Justices who they say are increasingly the target of groups of protestors gathering outside their homes.
“Our justices need to be able to do their jobs independently and free from any harassment and intimidation,” Morrisey said. “Attorney General Garland needs to step up and do his job to eliminate this threat.”
Morrisey
“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,” the May 11 letter from the AGs to Garland states. “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.”
In the letter, the AGs also note Garland used his authority to address parents voicing their opinions to school boards.
“You were quick to respond to the purported ‘threat’ of parents speaking out at local school board meetings (though the basis for your threat assessment was shaky to say the least),” the letter states. “Here, in the face of escalating extremism directed at the judicial branch, you have an obvious role to play. Congress recognized that pressuring judges to change their votes by protesting outside their homes directly threatens the rule of law.
“You profess to share those concerns, having unequivocally stated that attacking a courthouse ‘to prevent judges from actually deciding cases’ plainly constitutes ‘domestic extremism, domestic terrorism.’ You can and should act accordingly by faithfully executing federal law to prevent protestors from attempting to intimidate the Justices of the Supreme Court, both to protect the Justices and to safeguard the rule of law.”
Morrisey signed the letter with AGs from Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming.