Federal Judges, Legislators, To Improve Ties In “Safe Spaces” Program

A Pew Charitable Trusts program is helping Congress and the courts bounce back from what might have been the nadir of their relationship – when U.S. District Judge Richard G. Kopf told Congress in his blog to “go to hell” during the government shutdown in 2013. Since Sandra Day O’Connor resigned a decade ago, no Supreme Court justice has had prior experience as an elected official, and there are only seven members of Congress who have judicial backgrounds. Pew’s “Safe Spaces” program, hoping to bridge the gap and foster some understanding, will arrange for judges to meet with legislators and their staffs over the next two years.