Judges Amy St. Eve and Michael Scudder appeared before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government on Tuesday for a discussion centered around the fiscal accountability and oversight of the federal courts.
The judges spoke on topics such as calls for impeachment of federal judges, budgetary concerns, and the need for increased security resources. St. Eve and Scudder both said that the threats of impeachment are inappropriate because judges must rule on the basis of the law and facts, not politics. They said that calling for the impeachment of judges over their rulings is undermining the rule of law.
The judges pointed to the data from the US Marshals Service, which shows an increase in threats made to judges. Nearly 200 judges were threatened from early March to late May this year, more than double the number from the preceding five months. The judges called upon Judiciary Committee to provide them with further support and protection in upholding their duties. Alexander Hamilton’s Federalist 79 was cited to stress that “[n]ext to permanency in office nothing can contribute more to the independence of the judges than a fixed provision for their support.”
The US Judicial Conference has requested $9.4 billion in discretionary funding for FY2026, which is a 9.3% increase over the enacted FY2025 budget. Specifically, the request includes $892 million for court security, an 18.9% increase; $74 million for multi-year IT modernization and cybersecurity initiatives, aiming to fortify the courts’ digital infrastructure and protect sensitive information; and $1.8 billion for defender services, a 21.7% increase, to address the impact of the hiring freeze on constitutionally mandated legal representation.
St. Eve and Scudder said that withholding critical funding, particularly for security, could compromise the independence of the judiciary and thereby threaten the rule of law. The sentiment was that judges, their staff, and their families should not face threats or intimidation for performing their duties.
Judge St. Eve and Judge Scudder were both appointed by President Donald Trump to the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in 2018.
