According to this story from the AP, the number of physical threats made against administrative judges increased 18% last year, but it’s the nature of the threats, not the number, that is most troubling.  Over the past year, threats have amplified in nature with more threats involving serious bodily harm or violence against the judges’ families.  No judges were harmed during the reporting period, although one possible explanation for a shoot out in a Las Vegas federal courthouse that left one security guard and the gunman dead is frustration over a reduction in the shooter’s social security benefits.

Social Security judges currently face a backlog of approximated two million cases and some people have to wait over two years to begin receiving disability payments as a result.