President’s Corner > Federal Congressional Funding for the Justice System and Protecting Our Impartial Courts

COLUMN

BY FRANCIS ADEWALE

“If one really wishes to know how justice is administered in a country, one does not question the policemen, the lawyers, the judges, or the protected members of the middle class. One goes to the unprotected—those, precisely, who need the law’s protection most!—and listens to their testimony.”

— James Baldwin, No Name in the Street

One of the principal tasks of state bar presidents all over the country is to go to Congress annually to advocate for funding for legal aid and the justice system. This year’s ABA Day (from March 24-26) was well attended, and my unscientific poll of bar leaders showed that, for most, the highest concern is for protecting our impartial courts and funding for the Legal Services Corporation. I want to thank our Washington state congressional delegation, from both sides of the aisle, for receiving us and listening to our advocacy on behalf of those who need the law’s protection most. This year, I had the opportunity to walk through the halls of Congress and meet with state congressional leaders and their staff. Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell were most gracious. They not only received us, but they also listened to our impassioned plea on behalf of their constituents who need legal protection. We also met with the staff of representatives including Pramila Jayapal, Marilyn Strickland, Emily Randall, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, Adam Smith, and Kim Schrier.

The highlight of this year’s congressional outreach was the reception in honor of Washington’s retiring congressional leader, Rep. Dan Newhouse. Rep. Newhouse told us he has not always been a supporter of civil legal aid. We all have past WSBA President Bill Pickett to thank for making him a believer in this good cause. Below is a short report on our efforts in Washington, D.C., including extracts from the ABA Governmental Affairs Office outreach materials.

BACKGROUND

A cornerstone principle of our U.S. Constitution is a fair and impartial judiciary where judges can issue decisions based on the facts of the case without fear of reprisal or physical harm. This principle is applicable to both federal and state courts. State court judicial officers, together with court staff, handle cases concerning complicated problems ranging from child custody disputes, mental health, loss of housing, and denial of financial aid. I served as public defender at our Spokane Regional Mental Health Court and saw the challenges families go through to keep their family members experiencing mental health issues on the straight-and-narrow path to health and wellness. I have also served as public defender at our Spokane Municipal Community Court for more than 15 years. In these two therapeutic courts, I have never seen anyone make a threat of violence or harm toward the judiciary or staff of courts even though the majority of the participants in these courts deal with mental health issues. They just don’t do it. They are more focused on their health and well-being than anything else.

Threats of violence to judges and court staff often come from within our toxic political environment. Most who come before the court understand the judicial process and will either agree with a judge’s ruling or seek appellate review. However, in an increasing number of cases in recent times, disgruntled litigants threaten and even try to physically harm judges and their family members, as well as court staff. I believe that these sentiments arise from those who have found comfort in hearing from political leaders who stoke divisions and hatred.

THE PROBLEM

You have heard me and other state bar leaders say that increased threats and violence against state and federal judges are on the rise all over the country. These threats of violence against judges are reported by court officers and relayed to the public through national and local media outlets, but there is no national database to collect, quantify, and assess the threats. Our outreach to our state congressional delegation this year is to establish and fund one for the United States. If we want to monitor and check these threats of violence, we need to get to their roots.

WHY IT MATTERS

According to the ABA Governmental Affairs Office, a State Judicial Threat and Intelligence Resource Center should provide:

• Safety education and training for judicial officers, courts, and local law enforcement.
• Physical security assessments for courts, homes, and other facilities where judicial business is conducted.
• Monitoring of threats to state judges and court staff.
• Standardized incident reporting practices.
• A national database for reporting, tracking, and sharing information, best practices, and analysis of
  threats.

PENDING LEGISLATION

We are grateful to our two Washington senators for pushing to help pass the Countering Threats and Attacks on our Judges Act by unanimous consent. This bipartisan legislation to create a national database for state judicial threat information to help improve judicial security and the quality of justice in all our state and local courts is before the House of Representatives (HR 4602). It is incumbent upon legal professionals to continue advocating for improved judicial security.

FUNDING THE LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION

We should all applaud the long-standing support from Congress for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) and legislators’ decision to provide LSC with $540 million for fiscal year 2026, which was a modest 3.6 percent cut from FY 2024 and FY 2025 when it received $560 million. As the ABA Governmental Affairs Office noted, we should all be grateful that “proposals for more significant cuts were not adopted by Congress. It is however in our best interest to urge robust LSC funding in FY 2027 to help Northwest Justice Project meet the growing civil legal needs of low-income Washingtonians.”

Your Washington State Bar Association is committed to protecting our judicial system from threats and violence against judicial officers, members of the bar, and court staff. We promise to continue to advocate for justice for all.

Bend the Arc!

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GUEST COLUMN > In each issue of Bar News, WSBA President Adewale asks one Washington legal professional, one “Hero of Justice,” to share how they came to practice law, read the column here.

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