A survey of Massachusetts trial court judges has found that violence and threats are common. Judge Peter W. Agnes Jr., president of the group that compiled the results, said that judges surveyed reported experiencing death threats against themselves and their family members, threats of arson at their homes, swearing and over-turning tables.

 

About 14 percent of the respondents said they feared for their safety on a daily basis, according to the survey, conducted in 2008 and 2009. Some of them require law enforcement escorts to and from work, the report says.

 

Nearly a third of the respondents said they sought law enforcement protection to address specific threats.

 

Surveys were sent to every sitting Bay State trial court judge - about 350 of them, said Robert P. Clayman, executive director of the Judges Conference.