They Get Letters: Senator Cornyn

Dear Senator Cornyn,

I have read that you have made the following statement on the floor of the United States Senate: "I don't know if there is a cause-and-effect connection but we have seen some recent episodes of courthouse violence in this country. Certainly nothing new, but we seem to have run through a spate of courthouse violence recently that's been on the news and I wonder whether there may be some connection between the perception in some quarters on some occasions where judges are making political decisions yet are unaccountable to the public, that it builds up and builds up and builds up to the point where some people engage in - engage in violence."

By this statement you have essentially said that should a member of Al Queda find that the sentence levied against Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman with regard to the first World Trade Center bombing was "politically" motivated; they would be justified in taking violent action against the judge who sentenced him to life in prison. 

Either we are a country of laws or we are not.  If we are a country of laws, we need judges to interpret those laws.  If we are not, then not only are judges irrelevant; Senators are also irrelevant.

I believe you owe a public apology to US District Judge Joan Lefkow and the family of Fulton County Superior Court Judge Rowland Barnes.  Your remarks were tasteless and inappropriate for a United States Senator.

Best regards,

Andy