A retired California attorney and a Pennsylvania state prison inmate are facing criminal charges in two separate cases after prosecutors say they threatened five Bucks County Common Pleas judges over the past year. Timothy Alexander Murphy, 70, of Oakland, and Joseph D. Supik, 35, an inmate at State Correctional Institution-Huntingdon, were both charged on Tuesday in unrelated cases that converged on the same target: the bench in Doylestown.
Emails Threatened a Judge's Life and Retention Election
According to investigators, staff for a Bucks County Common Pleas judge received threatening emails in December 2025 that referenced the judge's upcoming retention election and lifespan, with a follow-up email sent the next day, December 12. As reported by NBC10 Philadelphia, investigators traced the messages to a Yahoo account belonging to Murphy, a former California attorney. He was charged with terroristic threats with intent to terrorize another and arraigned on Tuesday, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for November 2.
Murphy's case is being handled separately from Supik's within the Bucks County District Attorney's Office, with Detective Timothy Johnson and Deputy District Attorney Megan Stricker assigned to Murphy's prosecution, according to the Bucks County District Attorney's Office. Investigators have not disclosed whether federal or California authorities assisted in serving Murphy, and that detail remains unresolved.
An Inmate's Letter Targeted the Judges Who Sentenced Him
In the second case, the Bucks County Clerk of Courts received a letter postmarked July 6, 2026, from State Correctional Institution-Huntingdon containing threats against four Common Pleas judges, the station's report states. Investigators determined Supik sent the letter, and all four judges named in it had previously presided over his earlier criminal cases in Bucks County. Supik now faces four counts of retaliation against a judicial official and four counts of terroristic threats with intent to terrorize another.
Detective Ronald MacPherson and Deputy District Attorney Andrew Bukowski are handling Supik's prosecution, per the Bucks County District Attorney's Office. Supik, an inmate, had prior Bucks County cases involving retaliation and terroristic threats, according to LevittownNow.com. The July letter was allegedly mailed from behind bars.
District Attorney Vows Zero Tolerance
Bucks County District Attorney Joe Khan announced both filings simultaneously, saying investigators and attorneys acted swiftly to protect the people threatened and the integrity of the legal system. “Our democracy requires having courts where we settle disputes with law and evidence rather than threats or brute force,” Khan said. He added that there is zero tolerance for violence or intimidation “against judges or others who are sworn to administer justice and uphold the law.”
The five judges targeted across both cases all serve on the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas, which is seated at the Bucks County Justice Center in Doylestown and handles criminal, civil, and family dockets, according to the Bucks County District Attorney's Office. It remains unclear what, if any, security upgrades were implemented around the judges following the December and July communications.
Statutes Carry Steep Penalties, Including a Gun Ban
Both Murphy and Supik face counts under 18 Pa.C.S. § 2706, Pennsylvania's terroristic threats statute, which is typically graded as a first-degree misdemeanor carrying up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine but can escalate to a third-degree felony punishable by up to seven years if the conduct causes a facility evacuation or major operational disruption, according to Fairlie & Lippy P.C. Whether prosecutors will seek that felony enhancement against Murphy has not been addressed publicly.
Supik's four retaliation counts stem from 18 Pa.C.S. § 4953.1, which is a second-degree felony only when specified conditions are met, including use or threatened use of force, violence, or deception; otherwise, it is a first-degree misdemeanor, per the Pennsylvania General Assembly. A conviction under the terroristic threats statute can permanently affect firearm rights, according to Ambler Law Offices.
Part of a Troubling National Pattern
The Bucks County cases land amid concerns about hostility toward the judiciary nationwide. The U.S. Marshals Service's fiscal year 2025 threat statistics listed 396 individual federal judges. That threat environment led U.S. Judicial Conference leadership to request a roughly 20% budget increase for judicial security programs from Congress, as reported by Courthouse News Service, citing strain on threat mitigation under flat, stopgap funding.
A man accused of threatening a state representative's office faced $200,000 bail, a case Hoodline previously reported. Taken together, the cases underscore a local and national landscape in which elected officials and judges alike have had to contend with escalating threats tied directly to their public roles.
