It's not unusual for angry defendants to blame the judge for their troubles, but sometimes they do more than that. In rare instances, members of the bench were murdered or courtrooms caught in the crossfire of acts of extreme violence.

Judicial safety is also back in the spotlight after Cook County Associate Judge Raymond Myles was shot and killed outside his home in Chicago on April 10. Prosecutors there said the shooters were attempting to rob his girlfriend when he intervened.

Days later, the body of New York Court of Appeals Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam was found in the Hudson River. Her death is being investigated as a likely suicide.