[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 13293]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 IDAHO COURTHOUSE AND CHURCH SHOOTINGS

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, this weekend we witnessed an act of 
senseless violence in Moscow, ID, the home of the University of Idaho, 
where someone reportedly laid siege to a courthouse, killing a police 
officer and wounding a sheriff's deputy and another person. The gunman 
then retreated into a church, where he apparently killed a church 
sexton and then took his own life.
  The attack at the courthouse in Idaho is another reminder of the need 
to provide resources and protections crucial to our Federal and State 
courts. It was 2 years ago when the mother and husband of Judge Joan 
Lefkow of Chicago were murdered in their home. Judge Lefkow's 
courageous testimony in our committee hearing in May 2005 is something 
none of us will forget. Later that year a Georgia State court judge was 
killed at a courthouse in Atlanta and there was an attack on a State 
judge in Nevada.
  Last month, by a vote of 97-0, the Senate passed S. 378, the 
bipartisan Court Security Improvement Act of 2007. I introduced this 
measure in January along with Senator Specter, the majority leader, 
Senator Durbin, Senator Cornyn and others. House Judiciary chairman 
John Conyers introduced an identical measure in the House also with 
bipartisan support.
  Among the bill's many protections are provisions expanding the access 
of State courts to grant programs for their security. The additional 
resources provided by this bill may not have prevented what occurred 
this weekend, but we must do what we can. I wish this legislation had 
been enacted last year. Despite our efforts, despite Senate passage of 
this measure twice last year, the House last Congress did not take up 
and pass these measures to improve court security. I expect that the 
new House soon will take up and pass S. 378 in this Congress. It should 
not be a struggle to enact these measures to improve court security.
  Our Nation's Founders knew that without an independent judiciary to 
protect individual rights from the political branches of Government, 
those rights and privileges would not be preserved. The courts are the 
ultimate check and balance in our system. We need to do our part to 
ensure that the dedicated women and men of the Federal and State 
judiciary have the resources, security, and independence necessary to 
fulfill their crucial responsibilities. This weekend serves as another 
tragic reminder that we owe it to our judges and those protecting our 
courthouses to better protect them and their families from violence and 
to ensure that they have the peace of mind necessary to do their vital 
and difficult jobs.

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