I see on the Drudge Report that Justice Breyer was robbed at machete-point:
Supreme Court Justice Breyer robbed with machete...
This did not happen in the US, but on the island of Nevis, which is part of the West Indian nation state of St. Kitts And Nevis, population 50,314. There’s no description of the robber, he seems to have been of no particular shape, size, or (especially) color, the facts you always give on police description.
Most versions of the story online mention two previous cases of Supreme Court Justices being crime victims, David Souter beaten up while jogging in 2004, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg having her purse snatched in 1996.
I looked up the contemporary descriptions of the attacks, and what do you know, they were victimized by men of no particular color as well!
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a victim of a downtown purse snatching—no description given:
Justice Ginsburg Is RobbedNYT, November 9, 1996
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's purse was snatched while she was out walking with her husband and daughter, but she was not injured, police said Friday.
Justice Ginsburg, 63, and her family were near the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts when a man snatched her purse on Thursday night, said District of Columbia police detective J.C. Stamps. Her purse had a small amount of cash, credit cards and keys.
David Souter had an experience similar to that of DC resident Matthew Yglesias, getting beaten up on the street for no reason [Was Mugging Of Matthew Yglesias A Hate Crime? ]. Apparently, according the no-description news story, Souter was beaten by young men of no particular color:
“Souter, 64, sustained minor injuries Friday night when he was attacked by at least two young men as he was out for a jog near his home in southwest Washington, D.C., according to court and police officials.Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said Sunday that the justice, a 1990 appointee of the first President Bush, was feeling fine.
The attack, which officials suspect was a random act not directed at a member of the court, occurred about 9 p.m. while Souter was jogging alone. His neighborhood is in a quadrant of the city that includes high-priced townhouses and public housing projects...
Supreme Court police officers took Souter to Washington Hospital Center, where he was treated for minor injuries and released about 1:30 a.m. Saturday.” [Attack on Souter shows justices' minimal security, By Joan Biskupic, USA TODAY, May 2, 2004]
While the public record, as reported by the newspapers, shows that the Justices were victimized by men of no particular color, according to the CIA World Factbook, almost all of the 50,314 residents of St. Kitts And Nevis are black, and I have demographic, statistical reasons to suspect that the criminals who victimized Souter and Ginsburg in the District of Columbia are too.
Now, will Justice Breyer’s jurisprudence on crimes committed by “people of no particular color” change as a result of this experience? Probably not.
John Derbyshire wrote in 2002 that
"Back in the late 1980s, there was a judge in New York City named Bruce Wright, known to all as "Turn 'Em Loose Bruce" for his lenience towards the criminals who came up before him. This was one of those liberal judges who had an excuse for every felon, even for those too stupid or obstreperous to have prepared an excuse for themselves. Well, one day Judge Wright got mugged in the street near his home. He was off work for a few days. It was a big story in the tabloid newspapers, and a lot of people were making jokes about it. When Judge Wright returned to the bench, he made a point of starting off that day's session with an announcement: 'As I'm sure you all know, I was the victim of a criminal assault the other day. I want to make it clear that this experience will in no way change my sentencing policies on this bench!' As he paused to let this sink in, someone called out from the back of the courtroom: 'Mug him again!
