II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3984 

To amend the State Justice Institute Act of 1984 to authorize the State 

Justice Institute to provide awards to certain organizations to establish 

a State judicial threat intelligence and resource center. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 20, 2024 

Mr. CORNYN (for himself, Mr. COONS, Mr. MORAN, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and 

Mrs. SHAHEEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend the State Justice Institute Act of 1984 to authorize the State Justice Institute to provide awards to certain organizations to establish a State judicial threat 

intelligence and resource center. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Countering Threats 

5 and Attacks on Our Judges Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 Section 202 of the State Justice Institute Act of 1984 

8 (42 U.S.C. 10701) is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

2 end; 

3 (2) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at 

4 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

5 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(9) ‘eligible organization’ means a national 

7 nonprofit organization that— 

8 ‘‘(A) provides technical assistance and 

9 training on, and has expertise and national-level 

10 experience in, judicial security and safety at the 

11 State and local levels; 

12 ‘‘(B) has experience in courthouse design 

13 and courthouse security design standards; 

14 ‘‘(C) has an understanding of State judi15 cial operations and public access to judicial 

16 services; and 

17 ‘‘(D) has experience working with a wide 

18 array of different judges and court systems, in19 cluding an understanding of the challenges fac20 ing trial courts, appellate courts, rural courts, 

21 and limited-jurisdiction courts at the State and 

22 local levels.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF STATE JUDICIAL THREAT IN2 TELLIGENCE AND RESOURCE CENTER. 

3 Section 206(c) of the State Justice Institute Act of 

4 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10705(c)) is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (14), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

6 end; 

7 (2) by redesignating paragraph (15) as para8 graph (16); and 

9 (3) by inserting after paragraph (14) the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(15) to provide financial and technical support 

12 to eligible organizations to establish, implement, and 

13 operate a State judicial threat and intelligence re14 source center to— 

15 ‘‘(A) provide technical assistance and 

16 training around judicial security, including— 

17 ‘‘(i) providing judicial officer safety 

18 education and training for judicial officers, 

19 courts, and local law enforcement; 

20 ‘‘(ii) creating resources and guides 

21 around judicial security; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) providing physical security as23 sessments for courts, homes, and other fa24 cilities where judicial officers and staff 

25 conduct court-related business; 


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1 ‘‘(B) proactively monitor threats to the 

2 safety of State and local judges and court staff; 

3 ‘‘(C) coordinate with Federal, State, and 

4 local law enforcement agencies to mitigate 

5 threats to the safety of State and local judges 

6 and court staff; 

7 ‘‘(D) develop standardized incident report8 ing and threat evaluation practices for State 

9 and local courts in coordination with State and 

10 local law enforcement and fusion centers; 

11 ‘‘(E) develop a national database for re12 porting, tracking, and sharing information 

13 about threats and incidents towards judicial of14 ficers and court staff at local and State levels 

15 with entities working in the interest of judicial 

16 security, including State and local law enforce17 ment and fusion centers; and 

18 ‘‘(F) coordinate research to identify, exam19 ine, and advance best practices around judicial 

20 security.’’. 

21 SEC. 4. REPORTS. 

22 Not later than 1 year after the date on which a State 

23 judicial threat intelligence and resource center is estab24 lished under paragraph (15) of section 206(c) of the State 

25 Justice Institute Act of 1984, as added by section 3 of 


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1 this Act, the State Justice Institute shall submit to the 

2 Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Com3 mittee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives 

4 an annual report on the number of threats to State and 

5 local judiciary members and court staff, with breakdown 

6 of types of threats and level of seriousness. 

Æ 


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