Defend the Judiciary

Collecting and Recording - Attacks on the Judiciary and Responses

Our democracy needs a shield against the attacks being waged on our foundational institutions. Townsquare Democracy’s campaign to Defend the Judiciary starts with promoting the good work of our courageous Judges and lawyers who are working to enforce our laws and the constitution..

Judge of the Month

Judge Rita F Lin - 1 st Chinese American Woman Judge in the U.S. District Court in Northern California

One of the top 100 women lawyers in California in 2012
Living with partial deafness makes her pay attention to the possibility of missing or new information in judicial cases.
Ruled against Trump administration in Anthropic case, stating administration’s actions constituted First Amendment retaliation

Read more about Judge Lin

Speak Up for Justice’s next event, “The Bench Breaks Its Silence: Sitting Judges Stand Up and Speak Out About Attacks on the Judiciary,” took place on March 19, 2026.

At a moment of escalating attacks on the judiciary, this national conversation examines how and why sitting judges are now speaking more openly about threats, intimidation, and efforts to undermine judicial independence. As public criticism of courts grows more extreme, members of the bench are increasingly making clear that silence is no longer enough when the rule of law itself is under pressure.

This timely, non-partisan program brings together sitting members of the judiciary and leading voices in the legal community to discuss the growing dangers facing judges, the boundaries of judicial ethics, and what these attacks mean for the future of an independent judiciary.