JFI Logo

 
Security Ideas Away From the Courthouse for Judges, Spouses, and Family (cont)

Perspective
  • Remembering that people and families like yours keep democratic principles and the rule of law alive through courage, commitment, and confidence. They will not be intimidated.
  • Drawing a comparison to traffic safety issues and the many automobile accidents reported daily. We don’t lose confidence or stop driving.
  • Awareness and taking precautions without catastrophizing what might happen.
  • Realizing a judge may not get as many threats as an attorney, prosecutor, corporate head, university president, member of the clergy, social worker, psychiatrist, or person in another profession.
  • Chatting with other judges and their spouses or families to learn how they function with confidence without being preoccupied with security.
  • Talking with people in your faith community about resources and attitudes.
  • Counseling with professionals such as Washington, D.C. Psychologist Dr. Isaiah Zimmerman, who has special expertise in helping judges.
  • Being aware that threats and extra needs for security do not occur in a vacuum. Families in public life thrive when they minimize other sources of stress and maximize other sources of security.
  • Always keeping calm and using logic if threatened or placed in a dangerous situation.
    Planning

  • Teaching your family what you have learned about judicial security with consideration for ages and individual needs.
  • Getting the facts on incidents of actual harm to judges or their families in your area.
  • Letting assigned law enforcement officials do a security analysis of your home.
  • Having a plan if taken hostage.
  • Having a fire safety plan for your home.
  • Not keeping or carrying a weapon unless it is in proper working condition and you [and your family] have been trained in its proper use. Keeping your skills sharp by practicing frequently. A policeman’s wife accidentally shot her husband when he arrived home unexpectedly in the middle of the night without turning on the lights. A photographer’s child accidentally killed his father. Since judge’s families are not immune from accidents, instructing the whole household.
  • Instructing family members not to trust strangers.
  • Making sure state, county, and local police and local fire departments know where you live.

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]