Molly Justice
Director of Communications
(757) 259-1564
Statement on the killing of Maryland Judge Andrew Wilkinson
Williamsburg, Va., Oct. 20, 2023 – National court leaders are mourning the tragic killing of Maryland Circuit Court Judge Andrew Wilkinson, who was shot outside his home in Washington County, Maryland last night.
“The assassination of Judge Wilkinson should be shocking to all Americans,” said Chief Judge Anna Blackburne-Rigsby, President of the Conference of Chief Justices, and Greg Sattizahn, President of the Conference of State Court Administrators. “Unfortunately, we fear it is not. The sustained attacks in recent years on the rule of law, public institutions of government and the courts are now having their effects. We ask all Americans to think carefully about this troubling trend because normalizing these attacks will in no way make us better, safer, or more peaceful. If anything, it will only come with more troubling and dire consequences, as Judge Wilkinson’s family can now sadly attest. To his family and our colleagues in the Maryland judiciary, we send our deepest condolences.”
According to data compiled by the National Center for State Courts, this is the third targeted shooting of a state judge in the last three years.