The Supreme Court Police Department was not made aware of Justice Antonin Scalia’s death in February 2016 until two hours after he was found unresponsive in his suite at a West Texas ranch, and it took another two hours after the U.S. Marshals Service was notified for deputies to arrive at the ranch, according to new documents.
The documents, obtained and released by a court watchdog group pushing for more transparency at the high court, shed light on how the justices are protected when they travel outside of Washington, D.C. The group says the documents raise concerns about the level of protection they receive when traveling, particularly among the justices who are older in age.
“The public should be confident that Supreme Court justices are well-protected, both inside their building and when they venture out into the world,” Gabe Roth, executive director of Fix the Court, said. “That the justices can decline protection when they travel to the most far-flung places in the country does not seem appropriate given the expansive reach and resources of the U.S. Marshals Service and the fact that so many justices choose to remain on the bench well into old age.
“I don’t want to wait for another tragedy to occur to ensure that more comprehensive protection is in place.”
Fix the Court obtained documents from the U.S. Marshals Service through a Freedom of Information request filed in 2016.
A two-page document detailing the U.S. Marshals Service policies for judicial security indicates justices receive coverage from the marshals at either their request or the request of the marshal of the Supreme Court when they are traveling outside of the Washington, D.C., area.
The U.S. Marshals Service also keeps “addresses and other contact information for all U.S. Supreme Court justices when they travel outside the Washington, D.C., area with the justices’ permission and as provided by the marshal of the Supreme Court.”
Fix the Court believes it should be required for the U.S. Marshals Services to be notified when the justices travel outside the Washington, D.C., area due to “potential threats and fading health.”
In a statement to the Washington Examiner, the U.S. Marshals Service said it frequently examines its security procedures for federal judges.
“The U.S. Marshals Service is responsible for the protection of federal judicial officials, including judges and prosecutors, and we take that responsibility very seriously,” the agency said in a statement. “While we do not discuss our specific security measures, we continuously review the security measures in place for all federal judges and take appropriate steps to provide additional protection when it is warranted.”
In Scalia’s case, he did not request protection from the U.S. Marshals Service for his February 2016 hunting trip to the Cibolo Creek Ranch in West Texas. But three days before leaving Washington, he did ask for assistance while transferring planes in Houston when arriving in Texas and again when departing Texas.
Scalia arrived in West Texas via private plane from Houston at around 12 p.m. central time on Feb. 12, the documents show, and was hunting for blue quail three hours later.
On the day of Scalia’s death, Feb. 13, someone “attempted to make contact” with the justice at 8:15 a.m., according to a timeline of events. A housekeeper returned at 11 a.m. and knocked on the door to Scalia’s suite, but did not receive a response. Another person was summoned and entered Scalia’s room to find him unresponsive.
An unidentified person then attempted to reach “local federal authorities” but did not receive a response.
The local sheriff’s office contacted the supervisory deputy U.S. marshal at 12:41 p.m., and the Supreme Court Police were notified at 1 p.m., documents show.
Deputies with the U.S. Marshals Service arrived at the ranch at 2:38 p.m.
The U.S. Marshals Service issued a statement after Scalia’s death that marshals responded immediately “upon notification of Justice Scalia’s passing.” But one official with the agency wrote in an email to another, “Let’s hope it doesn’t grow legs.”
“It is highly likely that deputy U.S. marshals in the Western District of Texas were unaware Scalia was in their district the weekend he passed away, as the Feb. 12 airport transfer occurred with the help of deputies from the Southern District of Texas,” according to Fix the Court.
The documents obtained by Fix the Court not only provide a window into how the U.S. Marshals Service responded to Scalia’s passing, but also show how the justices have broad discretion over their security.
The Supreme Court requested coverage for domestic travel from U.S. Marshals 12 times in July 2015, at a cost of $69,039 to taxpayers. Though names of the justice were redacted, Fix the Court used public information to identify the justices that received coverage.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, for example, had U.S. Marshals deputies provide protection when she was attended events in New York on July 10 through July 11, and again from July 21 to July 25.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had U.S. Marshals deputies accompany her during trips to Cooperstown, New York, and Western Massachusetts from July 13 to July 21.
“These documents make it clear that the justices have differing attitudes toward their protection,” Fix the Court said. “Sotomayor has deputies accompany her to the theater, and Ginsburg was protected at the opera, both public places, yet Scalia did not have deputies accompanying him while hunting in Texas, even though ‘both of [the] venues’ he visited on that trip — presumably the ranch and the hunting grounds, though they’ve been blacked out — ‘will be open to the public.’”
