Fatal shooting of Maryland judge renews focus on security needs of jurists

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The shooting of Washington County Circuit Judge Andrew Wilkinson has intensified the focus on security measures for judges, with Thursday’s slaying coming in the wake of a number of threats or attacks on jurists.

Washington County Sheriff Brian Albert said during a Friday morning press conference that county officers and Maryland State Police troopers were dispatched to the residences of other judges on Thursday night into Friday morning as a precaution.

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“We don’t feel that there’s any threat currently to the other judges in the county or the state,” Albert said, noting that Thursday’s shooting was a “targeted attack.”

A spokesperson for the Maryland Judiciary said the safety and security of Maryland judges continues to be a top priority for the Judiciary, but offered no further information on security measures, or whether new security measures for judges will be implemented.

The history of attacks on judges spans across decades and states.

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In 2020, a gunman shot and killed the son of a federal judge in New Jersey, prompting Congress in Dec. 2022 to pass the Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act that allows federal judges to redact personal information, such as their personal addresses, displayed on federal government internet sites. The act also protects judges’ personally identifiable information from resale by data brokers.

In 2022, a gunman fatally shot a Wisconsin man in an apparent plan to target individuals connected to the Wisconsin judicial system.

Thursday’s shooting of Wilkinson is not the first time a Washington County Circuit Court judge has been attacked. In 1989, a package of pipe bombs exploded in Judge John Corderman’s apartment, although no one was charged in the bombing. Corderman survived the attack.

Sen. Paul Corderman, the son of Judge Corderman, said Thursday’s shooting “is an unfortunate example” of why legislation that would conceal judges’ personal addresses is important.

“These individuals are public servants,” Corderman said. “They are doing this for the good of our community. Murder is obviously a terrible thing but it’s beyond humanity to shoot down and kill a judge. It’s just absolutely terrible.”

The Judicial Security Division of the U.S. Marshals Service protects federal judges, jurors and other members of the federal judiciary. In fiscal year 2022, the U.S. Marshals Service investigated 1,362 threats and potential threats to protected persons.

However, state judges do not have the same protections.

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Andre M. Davis, a retired senior judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, said “any and everything” that can be done to protect all persons involved in the justice system, should be done.

“We are living in a time of such incredible hate and false information and agitation among people,” Davis said. “The Judiciary needs to get the money from the General Assembly to do what it needs to do to protect its people.”

Davis encouraged the Maryland General Assembly to “step up and engage with the judiciary” to study and examine what, if any, additional security measures are necessary to ensure the maximum level of protection for judges and those who support the judicial work, Davis said.

Davis said that in his experience, family law cases, like the case Wilkinson presided over, pose “the greatest danger” to judges.

“For all of the attention that’s paid to the risk to judges and others in criminal cases, it’s so important to remind everybody that it is these emotional-laden cases involving families and children,” Davis said. “Attention really needs to be paid to how we protect judges who are involved in those kinds of cases, because the emotions in those cases do run wild.”

Karen Herren, executive director of Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence, said in a press release that Wilkinson’s death “should serve as a wake-up call to our nation.”

“We are witnessing the devastating consequences of a society flooded with firearms and a legal system struggling to protect its citizens,” Herren said. “We need comprehensive reform to prevent further loss of innocent lives.”

Daily Record reporter Madeleine O’Neill contributed to this article.