On Saturday, Diane Goodstein, a circuit court judge in South Carolina, lost a horrible tragedy. A fire last December destroyed her three-story mansion on the luxury gated community’s compound on Edisto Beach, Colleton County. The 69-year-old judge of the state’s 4th Circuit Court was apparently walking her dogs when the fire started. At least three relatives were hospitalized after leaping from their burning house to avoid the fire. This group featured her husband, Arnold Goodstein, a one-time state senator, and their son, Arnold Goodstein II.
Goodstein has been on the state judicial bench since 1989. In recent years, she has come under fire for her contentious rulings. In September, she granted a temporary injunction. This move stopped the release of South Carolina’s voter files to the U.S. Justice Department, which is currently headed by the Trump administration. This ruling received public condemnation from Harmeet Dhillon, who served as an assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s civil rights division. After that, the South Carolina Supreme Court overruled Goodstein’s decision.
Against this backdrop of criticism and scrutiny, Goodstein started to receive death threats and was terrified for her safety. The cause of the residential fire remains under investigation. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) has opened an investigation into the incident as well. SLED Chief Mark Keel has urged local law enforcement to increase patrols and security in the vicinity. This has been an ongoing event until the investigation determines the cause of fire at the facility.
“At this time, we do not know whether the fire was accidental or arson. Until that determination is made, SLED chief Mark Keel has alerted local law enforcement to provide extra patrols and security.” – John Kittredge
The incident brings to the fore concerns that it could be symptomatic of the emergence of politically motivated violence. “It’s absurd,” said Nancy Gertner, a former federal judge and current professor at Harvard University. She noted that judges are increasingly fearful for their own safety. This fear arises from an environ in which public leaders openly encourage and validate violence to judges they dislike, such as Judge Goodstein.
“Judges are worried about their own safety.” – Nancy Gertner
Gertner continued by explaining that inflammatory rhetoric from civic leaders has exacerbated the situation with inflammatory rhetoric used by civic leaders.
“There are people who are inflamed by the incendiary comments of our president and members of Congress about judges.” – Nancy Gertner
In May, Diane Goodstein was among a bipartisan coalition of over 150 federal and state judges who condemned what they described as “a pattern of retaliatory attacks aimed at intimidating the judiciary.” This letter further shined a spotlight on the increasing fears judges have over threats to their safety and independence.
The ongoing discussion around politically motivated violence is further underscored by a study published in September by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. In it, authors Paul and James LeSage pointed out the rise of left-wing terrorism attacks at a time when violence is low by historical standards. They warned that although right-wing terrorism has receded this year, it could just as easily re-emerge in greater force.
Goodstein’s home fire was more than just a targeted act of arson. Even more concerning is the growing threat on public officials and judges amid these increasingly politically charged times. Investigations remain active, and many observers are eagerly watching. They’re curious if this incident signals a dangerous trajectory in the way that political dissent is practiced in our current era.