The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida announced that Eric James Rennert (56), of Champaign, Illinois, was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison for sending multiple threatening emails to a U.S. District Judge in South Florida, including threats aimed at the judge and the judge’s family. Court records say the messages …
Steven Greenhouse argues that Donald Trump’s recent tirade against supreme court justices (after they ruled against his tariff policy) is not an isolated outburst, but part of a broader, intentional campaign by Trump and key aides to vilify the judiciary. The article describes how Trump and figures like Stephen Miller and Pam Bondi portray judges …
On February 24, 2026, the Diyarbakır 5th High Criminal Court held the eighth hearing in the case against lawyer Necat Çiçek, who is being prosecuted over his legal work and participation in press statements. Çiçek is charged with “membership in an organization,” based primarily on statements from a confessor witness. His defense team argued that …
The European Union imposed sanctions on eight Russian individuals over alleged serious human rights violations, repression of civil society and democratic opposition, and actions undermining democracy and the rule of law in Russia. Those listed include members of Russia’s judiciary (two judges), as well as a prosecutor and investigator linked to what the EU describes …
A coalition of international legal and human rights organizations, including the New York City Bar Association, issued a joint statement condemning the January 28, 2026 convictions of 10 ÖHD lawyers and 20 TUAD executives/staff by Istanbul’s 14th Heavy Penal Court. The statement argues the charges—primarily “membership of an armed organisation” and, in some instances, “propaganda”—stemmed …
A CBS News investigation documents a sharp rise in threats targeting U.S. public officials—especially judges—amid a political climate where online harassment is increasingly common and sometimes escalates into real-world violence. The story begins with a Minnesota man, Jeffrey Petersen, accused of posting menacing comments under pseudonyms tied to infamous mass shootings and directing threats at …
A February 2026 CBS News investigation reveals a dramatic surge in threats, doxxing, and swatting against U.S. public officials, with 126 people federally charged in 2025 for threatening government figures — more than triple the number from a decade ago. Targets span all three branches of government, including federal judges, members of Congress, law enforcement …
In a PBS NewsHour report (Feb. 17, 2026), Ali Rogin examines how the Trump administration and Attorney General Pam Bondi have reshaped the U.S. Department of Justice. The report highlights a sharp decline in DOJ staffing, with about 9,000 employees (roughly 8% of the workforce) leaving since early 2025, and describes concerns from former and …
On February 12–13, 2026, the Wisconsin International Law Journal Symposium—co-sponsored by the Lawyers and Democratic Decline (LADD) project—brought scholars and practitioners to the University of Wisconsin Law School in Madison for two days of conversation on “Challenges Posed to Judges and Lawyers by Creeping Authoritarianism,” with panels spanning judicial behavior and constraint (including cases from …
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said his government will change the law to prevent ministers from being suspended while under criminal investigation, after a court suspended Deputy PM Belinda Balluku in November over alleged tender interference (which she denies). The proposal deepens a standoff with Albania’s anti-graft prosecutors (SPAK), who have asked parliament to lift …