The fatal shooting of District Judge Kevin Mullins in his own East Kentucky chambers underscores the escalation of violence towards the judiciary – since 2019, threats of violence against judges have more than doubled, according to one law group.
Letcher County Sheriff Shawn "Mickey" Stines is accused of shooting Mullins, 54, multiple times following an argument in the courthouse. Mullins died at the scene, and Stines was charged with one count of first-degree murder.
According to the American Bar Association, credible threats of harm against judges have skyrocketed from 175 instances in 2019 to 500 in 2023.
"Judges are facing more and more threats – violence has become the rule rather than the exception when defendants are unhappy with rulings. Most jurisdictions are unequipped in dealing with these mounting threats," said Belvin Perry, the former chief judge of Florida's Ninth Judicial Circuit, who received a slew of death threats when he presided over Casey Anthony's trial and throughout his career.
SHOCKING ATTACK ON NEVADA JUDGE SHOWS NEED FOR GREATER PROTECTIONS, SAYS JUDGE WHOSE SON WAS KILLED
"Each court's security will do an evaluation of your home to make sure that your home is safe. They'll tell you to make plans for your family if something happens. Those are actual realities that judges each and every day have to live with," Perry said.
"I've had, at times, 24-hour security at my house because of death threats. I kept a German Shepard, highly trained canine at home to be with my family when I was not at home. My wife had to take shooting courses."
Three days before Mullins was shot, Stines was deposed in a lawsuit levied by two women. The suit accuses the sheriff of "deliberate indifference in failing to adequately train and supervise" a deputy, Ben Fields, who pleaded guilty to raping a female prisoner while she was on house arrest.
The women allege that Fields repeatedly sexually abused a woman in Mullins' chambers.
It isn't clear whether the argument that preceded the shooting was related to the lawsuit. But if it were, it wouldn't be the first time a judge was attacked over a case.
LAS VEGAS COURTROOM ATTACK HIGHLIGHTS ISSUE OF VIOLENCE AGAINST JUDGES: EXPERTS
Last year, a Maryland county circuit court judge, Andrew Wilkerson, was killed in the driveway of his home following his ruling in a child custody case.
New Jersey federal judge Esther Salas started The Daniel Anderl Protection Project after her 20-year-old son was shot dead in a racially-motivated attack meant for her in 2020. The gunman, who was disguised as a delivery driver, killed Daniel Anderl and seriously injured Salas' husband, Mark Anderl.
"In my opinion, every state and territory in the United States should have laws protecting judges and should have laws that are aimed at judicial security," Esther Salas previously told Fox News Digital. "There are a handful of states like New Jersey that have addressed judicial security head-on, and my hope and prayer is that states will follow New Jersey's lead, follow the federal legislation and create and enact their own laws that are aimed directly at the judiciary."
In June, the U.S. Senate passed the bipartisan Counter Threats and Attacks on Our Judges Act, which would provide federal funding for state and local judges' security.
"Unfortunately, heightened polarization and partisanship has coincided with a spike in threats and attacks on members of the bench that endangers the independence of our justice system," Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat and one of the bill's sponsors, said in a statement.
DEMS ROUNDLY CONDEMN DEATH THREATS AGAINST THE SUPREME COURT THEY'VE REPEATEDLY DISPARAGED
Perry told Fox News Digital that although violence against the judiciary is on the rise, it is not a new phenomenon.
In 1984, Perry narrowly evaded a gunman who opened fire in Florida's Orange County Courthouse.
The shooter, Thomas Provenzano, shot 60-year-old Deputy Sheriff William Arnold Wilkerson dead, left Deputy Sheriff Harry Dalton with brain damage and injuries that led to his premature death several years later and permanently paralyzed Officer Mark Lindsey Parker.
Provenzano had been charged with disorderly conduct five months earlier and intended to shoot the officer that charged him, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page. He was executed via electric chair in June 2020.
Perry said that he happened to step out of the hallway where Provenzano opened fire moments before gunshots rang out.
"Unfortunately, we see that violence has become the ever present factor in the lives of judges," Perry said.
Combating the problem is the "million-dollar question," he said – but improved security in courthouses would help.
"It's tragic that the judge in Kentucky got killed, even with a security system in place – the sheriff was the person responsible for providing security," Perry said.
