Houston Chronicle: Senator Links Violence, Judges. (Cornyn)

[reprehensor]

Cornyn suggests 'political decisions' may be a factor in recent incidents at courthouses.

By GEBE MARTINEZ
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - In an eyebrow-raising speech on the Senate floor Monday, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn suggested a connection between "political decisions" by some judges and incidents of courthouse violence across the nation.

The remarks by Republican Cornyn, a former justice on the Texas Supreme Court, prompted immediate criticism from Democrats.

Cornyn, citing recent cases of violence against judges, said he wondered "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 violence."

The violence is unjustified, Cornyn said, but is "a concern that I have that I wanted to share."

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