Supreme Court seeking $19.4M to protect justices
WASHINGTON − The Supreme Court has asked Congress for an extra $19.4 million to deal with “evolving risks” and a change in how the justices’ homes are protected, according to the office that administers the federal courts system.
The office’s 2025 budget request for the Supreme Court includes 33 new positions to boost protection for the nine justices as threats against the judiciary have increased in recent years.
“Ongoing threat assessments indicated that there are evolving risks that require continuous protection,” the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts wrote in its budget request to Congress.
Increased funds are also needed to allow the Supreme Court Police to take over from the U.S. Marshals Service around the clock protection of the justices’ residences, the office said.
In 2022, Attorney General Merrick Garland tapped the Marshals Services to provide 24-hour security for the justices amid a flood of threats and protests that followed a leaked draft opinion that would overturn the landmark abortion decision Roe v. Wade.
President Joe Biden signed into law a bill quickly passed by Congress to expand security protections for the justices’ families.
“The law requires every judge to swear an oath to perform his or her work without fear or favor, but we must support judges by ensuring their safety,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in his 2022 annual report on the federal courts. “A judicial system cannot and should not live in fear.”
In June 2022, a California man who allegedly made threats against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was arrested near the justice’s home in suburban Washington, D.C. He has pleaded not guilty.
In December, a Florida man pleaded guilty to threatening to kill Roberts.
The 2025 budget request also includes a security increase for the rest of the judiciary due to “the significant increase in threats against federal judges.” The request is for the fiscal year that begins in October. But Congress has not completed work on the current budget cycle.