Yesterday’s FY19 judiciary budget proposal includes three line items that we’d like to highlight:

First, the judiciary is asking for $2.2 million to create 27 new positions in the Supreme Court Police Department.

Second, they’re asking for $2.0 million to hire 35 more court security officers across the country.

Finally, they’re looking to beef up cybersecurity with a $95 million IT investment in light of the “11 million attempted break-ins or hacks to our system” that have occurred so far in FY18, according to AO Director Jim Duff’s testimony yesterday before a House Appropriations panel.

Investing in the safety of our nation’s top judicial officers, as well as in the third branch’s IT infrastructure, is something Fix the Court will almost always support, and we applaud the AO and Judicial Conference for making these requests.