A 42-year-old St. Louis man is sitting in jail without bond after prosecutors say he threatened a sitting circuit judge inside the city's downtown courthouse earlier this week. Norbert Cody was charged Thursday with one felony count of tampering with a judicial officer, following an argument with a 22nd Circuit Court judge that authorities say ended with a direct threat against the judge's home.
According to a probable cause statement described by FOX 2, Cody argued with the judge at the Mel Carnahan Courthouse, located in the 1100 block of Market Street, and told the judge, “I will see you at your house.” He is also accused of telling the judge, “We will handle this outside of court.” A witness reportedly observed the exchange and took notes about the interaction, which are referenced in the probable cause statement.
Per the same account, the judge told investigators he felt threatened by Cody's statements. Authorities arrested Cody, and he was booked into jail Thursday without bond. The alleged threat took place at the courthouse earlier in the week, per the probable cause statement.
Case Moved Over Conflict of Interest
Cody's case has already been ordered transferred because of a conflict of interest, the report notes. That kind of move is standard procedure when a defendant is accused of threatening a member of the very bench that would otherwise hear the case. Missouri's judicial ethics rules require judges to step aside from cases where their impartiality could reasonably be questioned, according to FindLaw Caselaw, and when an entire circuit's bench is conflicted out, higher state judicial authorities typically step in to assign an outside judge or special prosecutor.
The Mel Carnahan Courthouse, originally built in the 1930s as the U.S. Court and Custom House before being renamed for former Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan, houses civil court divisions for the 22nd Judicial Circuit along with the district defender's office, according to the Missouri State Public Defender. It works alongside the nearby Clyde S. Cahill Courts Building to handle St. Louis city proceedings. The 22nd Judicial Circuit serves only the City of St. Louis, operating as its own independent court system separate from the surrounding 21st Judicial Circuit in St. Louis County, per Radefeld Law Group.
What Cody Is Facing
Under Missouri Revised Statutes Section 575.095, tampering with a judicial officer is a Class D felony, carrying up to seven years in prison, up to one year in jail, and a fine of as much as $10,000, according to the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office. State appellate precedent backs a tough approach to these cases: in April 2025, the Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District upheld a jury conviction against a defendant who delivered threatening demand letters to the homes of three St. Louis-area judges who had presided over his cases, ruling that evidence of the judges' emotional distress and safety concerns was admissible to prove intent to harass under the same statute.
State lawmakers are also moving to toughen the law further. During the 2026 legislative session, Missouri legislators introduced Senate Bill 1235, which would expand Section 575.095 with stricter penalties and bar anyone convicted of judicial tampering from receiving probation or parole, according to BillTrack50. The bill was drafted amid rising concern over physical threats and online harassment directed at judges and court staff statewide.
Part of a National Pattern
The alleged threat against the St. Louis judge lands amid a broader surge in hostility toward the judiciary nationwide. The U.S. Marshals Service opened 601 protective investigations during fiscal year 2026 involving documented threats against 315 unique federal judges, based on data updated through September 1. Multi-year figures compiled by Response Technologies show federal judicial threat investigations have stayed elevated for years running, with 630 threats recorded in fiscal year 2023, 509 in fiscal year 2024, and 564 in fiscal year 2025 — a year in which roughly one in seven active federal judges, 396 in total, was targeted in a documented threat investigation.
The pressure has pushed jurists to shield their personal information. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts reported in its 2025 Annual Report that about 80 percent of sitting federal judges have formally requested removal of their personal information from public records to reduce home security risks, after federal legislation made it possible for judges to redact home addresses, phone numbers, and family details from public databases.
The alleged threat also comes as the 22nd Judicial Circuit Court has been in the middle of a broader modernization push. In late 2025 and early 2026, the court began installing wall-mounted digital displays, upgraded audio systems, and enhanced security features across the Mel Carnahan Courthouse and Clyde S. Cahill Courts Building, according to the 22nd Judicial Circuit Court of Missouri, addressing infrastructure that in many courtrooms had gone unchanged since the buildings were constructed nearly a century ago.
No further details on Cody's next court date or the identity of the judge involved were available in the probable cause statement as described by FOX 2.
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