Tom Price: “last March Atlanta experienced one of the worst instances of courthouse violence on record. A defendant overpowered a…”

“last March Atlanta experienced one of the worst instances of courthouse violence on record. A defendant overpowered a courthouse security guard, grabbed her weapon and shot a judge dead in his own courtroom. The defendant then escaped, setting off a massive manhunt until he was captured a short while later. Incidents of courthouse violence are spreading. Chicago, Illinois, and Tyler, Texas, have also experienced vicious crimes against our judicial system. Many States are working to prevent this from happening again by improving courthouse security. This is a step in the right direction. But we must do more to protect judges, attorneys, jurors, and other courthouse employees from ever having to confront this kind of danger. We must not allow criminals to compromise our judicial system. Today we have an opportunity to act to strengthen penalties against those who commit courthouse violence and protect Federal judiciary employees from falling prey to criminals attacking their personal finances. Madam Speaker, the Secure Access to Justice and Court Protection Act is before us today, and I urge my colleagues to support this important initiative to preserve and protect our system of justice. ____________________”