By Lisa Redmond
Lowell Sun
LOWELL, Mass. — Two years ago, as Lowell Superior Court Judge Kenneth Fishman sentenced Nino DiPadova to life in prison for brutally stabbing his former landlady, DiPadova became enraged and flipped the heavy, wooden defense table.
It’s not the first time a judge in Massachusetts has faced a very real threat in and out of the courtroom.
One Superior Court judge, who did not wish to be identified, said that 25 years ago, as a District Court judge handling care and protection cases, he received a 2 a.m. call at his home from a drunk woman telling him, “Judge, I hope you die.”
A clerk who works in a Lowell court said he was confronted while picking up a prescription for his sick child at 2 a.m. The man recognized the clerk as someone who works in the courthouse and proceeded to yell profanities. The clerk was forced to drive to the police station because he didn’t want the man to know where he lives.
He has also been “stared down’’ at ballgames and events he attends with his children.
“I just hate when they confront you in front of your kids when you are at the movies or something fun,” said the clerk, who asked that his name not be used. “It’s unsettling.”
Fifty-nine percent of Massachusetts trial judges who responded to a recent survey said they have been targeted by verbal or written threats during their careers.
Another 21 percent said they believe their families are at risk because of threatened violence. Another 14 percent indicated that they feel there is a safety risk on a day-to-day basis. Thirty-one percent of the judges sought police protection due to specific threats.
“The data indicates that violent acts occur in our courthouses and that they involve threats against judges and their families, as well as other court employees, jurors and witnesses,” according to Safety and Security First, a report released last week by the Massachusetts Judges Conference.
In 2008, the security department of the administrative office of the Trial Court reported 409 incidents that involved either threats against judges (24), threats against employees (34) or assault or disturbances in courthouses (351).
In 2009, there was a slight decrease in the total number of reported incidents.
Examples of reported threats against judges included threatening to kill the judge, lunging across the table toward the judge after a judge orders medical treatment and commitment for a defendant, and cursing, threatening and overturning the counsel table.
There have been numerous instances of threatening phone calls to homes of judges from people complaining about decisions.
To stop these threats, the conference submitted a proposal to state legislators last month asking them to make assault and battery against judges and court personnel, including clerks, parole and probation officers, court officers, police officers, jurors, attorneys and witnesses, a felony. It is currently a misdemeanor.
The conference also asked that witness-intimidation laws apply to civil proceedings. Now they only apply to criminal cases.
And they propose to make disruptions on court property a felony offense.
All three new laws would carry prison sentences of up to 10 years, according to the proposal.
While the report notes that court officers and security do a “commendable job,” the number of court security personnel has declined over the past two years.
Copyright 2010 MediaNews Group, Inc.