April 4, 2005
Hon. John Cornyn
517 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
Re: Comments on Senate Floor, April 4, 2005
By Fax and Mail
Dear Senator Cornyn:
It is with great disappointment that I read in news accounts this evening that you, on the floor of the United States Senate, have suggested that a recent spate of courtroom violence is the result of justifiable public anger at judicial decisions. Your statement implied that the murderers of a state judge in Atlanta and the family of federal judge in Chicago were somehow justified in their actions. Such remarks can serve only to undermine the respect for justice which is essential to a nation of laws and show a profound lack of respect for the victims of these senseless tragedies. I ask that you retract your words on the floor of the United States Senate, and in a televised press conference so that the damage you have wrought may be undone. I also respectfully suggest that a public apology to the families harmed by the recent violence is in order.
A close look at the words you spoke on the floor of the United States Senate this evening makes clear that the remarks were wholly inappropriate:
I don't know if there is a cause-and-effect connection but we have seen some recent episodes of courthouse violence in this country. Certainly nothing new, but we seem to have run through a spate of courthouse violence recently that's been on the news and I wonder whether there may be some connection between the perception in some quarters on some occasions where judges are making political decisions yet are unaccountable to the public, that it builds up and builds up and builds up to the point where some people engage in - engage in violence. Certainly without any justification but a concern that I have that I wanted to share.
This statement implies that the murderers of Judge Rowland Barnes in Atlanta, Georgia and the family of U.S. District Court Judge Joan Lefkow in Chicago were somehow justified in assaulting officers of the court because they were rightly angry about decisions made by those jurists. Although you sought to qualify your remark, the meaning of the first two sentences is clear—the current spate of judicial violence is the result of citizens’ justifiable anger at decisions made by judges.
This statement implies that the murderers of Judge Rowland Barnes in Atlanta, Georgia and the family of U.S. District Court Judge Joan Lefkow in Chicago were somehow justified in assaulting officers of the court because they were rightly angry about decisions made by those jurists. Although you sought to qualify your remark, the meaning of the first two sentences is clear—the current spate of judicial violence may be the result of citizens’ justifiable anger at decisions made by judges.
The speculative nature of your statement does not excuse the error. The mere suggestion that these acts of cold-blooded murder were the result of anything other than evil intent on the part of the killers gravely undermines the respect for law and order which is this country’s strength and demeans the memory of the jurists who gave their lives in the service of the community.
It is my understanding that these statements were made in the midst of a political debate about the use of filibusters during votes on federal judicial nominees. While I understand that you are personally opposed to the practice, no political gain is worth the damage done to the institution of the judiciary and the families of those who have lost loved ones at the hands of these killers.
I therefore ask that you publicly retract your statements, not only on the floor of the United States Senate, but also in a televised press conference, where the effect of your retraction will work to undo some of the harm that they have done. I also respectfully suggest that a public apology to the families of those brutally murdered in these tragedies is in order.
Sincerely yours,
RW
cc: Hon. Willam Frist
Pres. George W. Bush
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