Agencies to share info on judge threats Law enforcement to track signs of danger from people in court

U.S. marshals and other law enforcement officials are changing howthey track threats to jurists six months after disgruntled litigantBart Ross killed the husband and mother of a federal judge.

U.S. Marshal Kim Widup told the Chicago Sun-Times that a newsystem will stream intelligence of potentially threatening or unusualbehavior -- including in e-mails and letters -- from every courtlevel in the Northern District of Illinois. Under the changes,marshals, charged with protecting federal judges, and local sheriff'sdepartments will share information on questionable behavior in allcourtrooms.

So if a threat happens, law enforcement can quickly call upintelligence to determine whether the person has done the same thingin other courtrooms and track signs of an "escalating pattern," Widupsaid.

About 40 law enforcement agencies who met last week to talk aboutsecuring judges agreed to designate at least one employee who keepsintelligence and shares it with other agencies.

"If we get a threat, we will ask: 'Is this an escalating patternon the part of the individual or is it somebody talking out offrustration?'" Widup said.

"We used to just get criminal history. Now we're seeking that andis there any intelligence information? Has there been something theyhaven't been arrested or prosecuted for but have demonstrated apattern?"

On a federal level, Widup said a deputy marshal is now assigned toevery judge in the Dirksen Federal Building and charged with knowingthe judge's docket and frequently checking whether the judge has anyconcerns about threatening behavior.

The changes come after Ross murdered the husband and mother ofU.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow after he lost a decadelong courtbattle that started in state court and ended with the U.S. SeventhCircuit Court of Appeals. Ross, a Polish immigrant, sued the medicalindustry, blaming it for leaving his jaw severely disfigured aftercancer treatment. Lefkow ruled against Ross in late 2004, and theseventh circuit in January held up the ruling, meaning the end of theline for Ross.

Ross' signs of increasing anger

Michael Lefkow, 64, a Chicago defense attorney, and the judge'smother, Donna Humphrey, 89, were shot to death in the Lefkows' NorthSide home Feb. 28. Ross later killed himself at a Milwaukee-areatraffic stop and left a letter confessing to the murders. DNAevidence also linked him to the crime scene.

Lefkow, who is still under the protection of marshals, returned tothe bench earlier this summer working part-time with a lightercaseload. Her return was a quiet one.

Sunday marked the six-month anniversary of the slayings.

In the days and weeks after Ross' suicide, it was revealed thatthroughout his 10-year legal battle he showed various signs of hisfestering anger with the system. The signs were there, but scatteredto different agencies. He represented himself in court, and hisfilings became increasingly angry. He wrote threatening letters,including to the attorney general's office, and once nearly gotescorted out of court after acting out in front of a differentfederal judge.

"We talked and realized our communication channels needed to bebetter," Widup said.

Intended more harm

FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Grant said Ross was intent ondoing more harm and may have if he hadn't been pulled over in atraffic stop. Ross killed himself as an officer approached his car ina Milwaukee suburb.

A parking ticket indicated Ross had been near the office of anappeals court judge, and a GPS system indicated he had looked updirections to a doctor's home.

"He was scheduled to be interviewed in the next few days," Grantsaid. "We would have figured it out. But would we have found him bythen is the question."