Former Venezuelan judge María Lourdes Afiuni has been granted full freedom, closing a case that ran more than 16 years and became emblematic of the collapse of judicial independence in Venezuela. The ordeal began in December 2009, when Afiuni ordered the release on bail of banker Eligio Cedeño, who had been held in pre-trial detention …
A Minnesota man was convicted by a federal jury in St. Paul on August 7, 2026, on all three counts related to writing and distributing a lengthy manuscript threatening federal judges, Reuters reports. Robert Phillip Ivers, 73, was found guilty of mailing threatening communications and of threatening to murder a federal judge; he had already …
In an August 5 profile, The Washington Post reported on Chief U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell Jr. of Rhode Island, who spoke publicly about credible death threats and harassment he and his family have received after ruling against the administration. McConnell described the doxxing of his daughter and impeachment efforts launched by members of …
This July 31 report (United States) describes the Trump administration’s dismissal of two additional judges at the Chicago Immigration Court, which has become the national leader in deportation orders. The article notes that the administration has fired more than 100 of the roughly 750 immigration judges in place at the start of the term while …
This July 29–30 analysis (Nepal) examines allegations by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the International Commission of Jurists that Supreme Court justices in Nepal were pressured to resign and threatened with impeachment. The article argues that judicial independence depends not only on the absence of direct interference but also on judges feeling secure enough …
A July 20, 2026 PBS NewsHour report by Nick Schifrin, with producer Karl Bostic in Tel Aviv, examines the political landscape after the dissolution of Israel’s parliament set up elections in October. Netanyahu, the country’s longest-serving leader, is facing questions about his handling of the October 7 attacks and their aftermath, alongside a standoff with …
In a July 10 report, The Washington Post described a bus tour of retired federal and state judges, dubbed “Justice in Motion,” traveling from suburban Pittsburgh through Ohio to outside Detroit to warn the public that judicial independence and the rule of law are in grave danger as the nation marks its 250th anniversary. The …
In a July 8, 2026 PBS NewsHour interview with Ali Rogin, Judge Holly D’Andrea — a Texas immigration judge since 2019 and president of the National Association of Immigration Judges — described low morale on the bench as roughly 200 judges have been fired, resigned, or retired, shifting an estimated 700 cases each onto remaining …
UN human rights experts have called on Peru to halt disciplinary proceedings against judges who applied international human rights law in cases involving serious abuses. In a statement issued from Geneva on June 26, 2026, the experts warned that punishing judges for upholding international law undermines judicial independence and sets back victims’ access to justice. …
Three International Criminal Court judges — Kimberly Prost (Canada), Solomy Balungi Bossa (Uganda), and Reine Adelaide Sophie Alapini-Gansou (Benin) — filed a lawsuit in a Manhattan federal court on June 24, 2026, challenging sanctions the Trump administration imposed on them last year. The judges argue the sanctions were unlawful, exceeding the scope of the International …