Several readers, via email and blog post, have asked for Article III Groupie's comments on the recent tragedy concerning the family of Judge Joan H. Lefkow (N.D. Ill.). On Monday, February 28, Judge Lefkow returned home to find that her husband, lawyer Michael Lefkow, and her mother, Donna Humphrey, had been shot to death. (For more extensive coverage, visit How Appealing, which has collected numerous news articles about these events.)
Suspicion in the murders has centered on the followers of white supremacist Matthew Hale, who was convicted last year of plotting to murder Judge Lefkow. Hale is now in prison awaiting sentencing. Judge Lefkow had presided over a trademark dispute between Hale's group, formerly known as the World Church of the Creator, and the Oregon-based Church of the Creator.*
Although she has been following this story closely, A3G has not blogged about it until now, mainly because she does not have much to say. On behalf of all UTR readers, A3G extends her deepest sympathies to Judge Lefkow and the Lefkow and Humphrey families. These events demonstrate, all too horrifically, the sacrifices that federal judges sometimes make in the course of performing their duties -- sacrifices that make them true American heroes. And, as various commentators and politicians have stated, the tragedy also underscores that the government can -- and must -- do a better job of protecting federal judges, their families, and their staff members.
A3G was also disturbed to learn that the internet may have played a role in these events. According to various news accounts, Lefkow family photographs and Judge Lefkow's home address were posted on white supremacist websites. It is possible that the killers obtained the Lefkows' home address from one of these sites.
As someone who regularly posts information about federal judges on the internet, A3G would like to ensure that the information appearing in her blog is not used for evil ends. She is cognizant of security issues when she blogs, which is why she does not publish personal identification information about judges, such as home addresses.** With respect to judicial photographs, almost all of the pictures A3G posts are either (1) already available on the internet, or (2) provided by the judge in question and used with the judge's permission.
But if you're a federal judge mentioned in Underneath Their Robes who believes that a particular reference to you in this blog presents a security issue, please e-mail Article III Groupie, so she can take immediate corrective action. While A3G firmly believes in the public's right to comment on (and even criticize) our federal judges, she obviously does not want any of them to be endangered in any way. Indeed, A3G is second to no one in her love of the federal judiciary. She could never forgive herself if she contributed, however inadvertently or indirectly, to any harm befalling a federal judge.
Sincerely,
* Ironically, Judge Lefkow had granted summary judgment in favor of Hale's group (as noted here). Only after she was reversed by the Seventh Circuit did she order Hale to stop using the name "World Church of the Creator" -- or be fined $1,000 a day for non-compliance. (Links to various opinions and briefs in the litigation are collected here.)
** Obsessive readers of UTR may recall that the home address of Judge Susan J. Dlott (S.D. Ohio) and Stan Chesley was originally mentioned in the UTR Cribs post about their judicial mega-mansion. But A3G was merely quoting from an article about the house that appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer, a newspaper whose circulation is larger than UTR's tiny readership by orders of magnitude. At any rate, A3G has revised that post to omit the address.
Pinchy Sulzberger's "New York Times" has spoken. Let's get it on down the wires down to every corn county rag & TV station in the nation, as the NYT does every other story: Writer Jodi Wilgoron (her photo is at link) says Michael Lefkowitz' grandfather was Jewish. The name is "son of Lev". Now that we have cultural closure on that issue, can we please move on to killer Bart Ross?
http://vnnforum.com/showthread.php?p=197561&*#post197561
Posted by: No 1965 Chain Immigrants | March 11, 2005 at 05:59 PM
I think is something to think about,when a man in dire straights looking for some help from the Judicial system cannot find it. Despite pain and physical deformities he is looked upon as "pathetic". I personally consider people without compassion as "pathetic". We must find out why people are pushed to such extreme limits and what happened to them to get to that point. I am deeply sorry for the loss of Judge Lefkow's husband and mother. But what loss was put upon Mr. Ross to make him do this? In most cases, the most tragic and hurtful crimes are because of retaliation from another crime unprosecuted. Am I Wrong?
Posted by: Justice? | March 11, 2005 at 05:06 PM
Yea, not only was he not a White Supremacist, HE WAS A JEW! Behold, fake White man named "Bart Ross" (real Jew name Bartilomiej Ciszewski from Europe's traditional Jew dumping ground, Poland).
http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=197084&postcount=1094&*
http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=197131&postcount=1103&*
Reference: The Lefkows -- Death Story of White Race-Failures or "Boom! Boom! Out Go Da' Lights," John Lee Hooker.
http://vanguardnewsnetwork.com/2005/JamesJ030505Levkows.htm?*
Try reading "Culture of Critique" by Professor Kevin McDonald.
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Posted by: No 1965 Chain Immigrants | March 10, 2005 at 08:11 PM
According to The Chicago Tribune, the guy who may be responsible for the murders of Judge Joan Lefkow's husband and mother has nothing to do with white supremacist groups:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-050310lefkow,1,487378.story?coll=chi-news-hed
Did we all jump to conclusions?
Posted by: | March 10, 2005 at 05:54 PM
The New York Times just did a very interesting profile of Judge Joan Lefkow. It has a lot of good info about this impressive jurist.
Also, it now appears that the man responsible for the murders of Joan Lefkow's husband and mother was not a white supremacist. It's looking like the guy was someone that Judge Lefkow ruled against in a civil case. After he was stopped by the police in a traffic stop, he committed suicide. But he left a note taking responsibility for the killings of Joan Lefkow's family.
Random question: A3G, why did you name your blog Underneath Their Robes? Why not Under Their Robes, or Beneath Their Robes?
Posted by: JudgeLover | March 10, 2005 at 05:31 PM