To The Contrary with Charlie Sykes Federal Judges are Sounding the Alarm. Will We Listen?
Oct 29, 2026
Jeremy Fogel, a retired federal judge and founding executive director of the Berkeley Judicial Institute, discusses mounting threats to judicial independence. He addresses intimidation of judges and their families, the DOJ’s eroding standards, partisan state courts, Supreme Court credibility, presidential immunity, and the creeping defiance of court orders. The conversation asks what happens when a pillar of democracy comes under sustained attack.
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When Judicial Criticism Becomes Personal Threats
- Criticizing a ruling protects free expression, but personal attacks can endanger judges and their families.
- Social-media amplification turns labels like “dangerous radical” into threats, affecting Democratic and Republican appointees alike.
Most Judges In One Room Had Faced Threats
- At a conference of roughly 120 federal district judges, more than half reported receiving a serious threat.
- Fogel cited pizzas sent to judges in the name of Judge Esther Salas’s murdered son as an intimidation tactic.
Threats Influence Judges Even Without Changing Rulings
- Threats have not visibly changed federal rulings, but they impose fear, sleeplessness, and concern for judges’ families.
- Judges can set intimidation aside professionally while still suffering significant personal harm.