The judge blasts all those who are attacking the judiciary with inflammatory rhetoric today and singled out Pat Robertson along with the Republican party.

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Judge Lefkow was very adamant about her fears that the judiciary has become the target of the Religious Right that has exposed them to more violence than ever before.

Chicago Tribune: In her first major public appearance since a disgruntled plaintiff murdered her husband and mother in her Chicago home, U.S. District Court Judge Joan H. Lefkow today called for better protection for judges.

She also asked lawmakers to repudiate recent "gratuitous attacks" on the judiciary by commentators such as Pat Robertson and by some members of Congress.

"In the age of mass communication, harsh rhetoric is truly dangerous," Lefkow said. "Fostering disrespect for judges can only encourage those that are on the edge, or the fringe, to exact revenge on a judge who ruled against them."