Ohio man indicted for threatening to blow up Supreme Court, attack Thomas News
Ohio man indicted for threatening to blow up Supreme Court, attack Thomas

[JURIST] Ohio resident David Tuason was indicted [PDF text; press release] Wednesday for allegedly threatening to blow up the US Supreme Court building and attack black men, including Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas [OYEZ profile]. Tuason was charged with six counts of mailing threatening communications and two counts of transmitting threatening interstate communications. AP has more.

Threats of violence against judges are an increasing problem in the United States; last month, the US Marshals Service [official website] reported that threats against federal judges had risen for the fifth straight year in a row [statistics, PDF]. In 2006, retired US Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor [OYEZ profile] warned against growing efforts at "judicial intimidation" in a Wall St. Journal op-ed [text; JURIST report]. Earlier that year, both O'Connor and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg [OYEZ profile] said they had received death threats [JURIST report] after Republican politicians criticized judges for citing foreign law or being "activist" in their rulings. Then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales later acknowledged that the security of judges was becoming a national concern [JURIST report].

THIS DAY @ LAW

Justice Department brings anit-trust action against AT&T

On November 20, 1974, the Department of Justice filed its final anti-trust suit against AT&T. United States v. AT&T was ultimately settled out of court with an agreement that the corporation would break up its monopoly on phone service throughout the country.

Nuremberg war crimes trials began

On November 20, 1945, the war crimes trials of Nazi World War II leaders began in the German city of Nuremberg. Review the Nuremberg Tribunal's Charter and the verdicts and sentences handed down on major war figures.

Winston Churchill born

On November 20, 1874, Sir Winston Churchill was born in Woodstock, England. He would go on to lead the United Kingdom as Prime Minister through World War II. Toward the end of the war, Churchill worked with US President Franklin D. Roosevelt to craft the treaties and accords that have defined the world since WWII. A 2002 poll by the BBC declared Churchill the Greatest Briton of all time.

New Jersey ratifies Bill of Rights

New Jersey ratified the Bill of Rights, a set of 10 fundamental amendments to the US Constitution, on November 20, 1789, becoming the first state to do so. The state also ratified an amendment on federal representation which ultimately failed. Additionally, New Jersey rejected an amendment on congressional salaries, which would eventually become the 27th Amendment more than 200 years later. Read the articles ratified by New Jersey.