(BOSTON 11/23/2021) Today Senator John C. Velis (D-Westfield) testified before the Joint Committee on the Judiciary in support of Senate Bill 1151, An Act to Establish the Massachusetts Judicial Security Act. The legislation would prohibit sharing without written permission the personal information of active and retired state judges.
“Judges are the ones who are personally and professional responsible for depriving someone of our most sacred right, liberty. They are the ones who must tell a person that they are going to prison for the rest of their life,” stated Senator Velis during his testimony. “The threat of retribution against these individuals and their families is not only real, it is also growing.”
On July 19, 2020, 20-year-old Daniel Anderl, the late son of Judge Esther Salas of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jesey, was tragically shot and killed at his family’s home. The gunman responsible was an attorney who had appeared in a case before Judge Salas and who used publicly available information to track down the judge and her family. The assailant also shot and critically injured Judge Salas’ husband, who survived the attack.
In response, The Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act was filed in the US Senate and House of Representatives to prohibit such information about federal judges from being publicly posted online. The federal legislation is supported by the Judicial Conference of the United States, the American Bar Association, and attorney generals across the United States. New Jersey and other states have enacted similar laws at the state level and Senator Velis said he modeled his bill after the federal legislation to bring these same protections to state judges in Massachusetts.
Specifically, the legislation would prohibit state, county, and municipal agencies from publicly posting the personal information of any judge or justice on the internet without written permission. It would also prohibit data brokers from selling, purchasing, or sharing this personal information, and would require any person, business or association to delete any publicly posted information if a written request is made to them. Personal information includes home addresses, phone numbers, emails, and social security numbers.
“The safety of our judges is critical to the administration of justice in the Commonwealth and this bill will provide a tool to help ensure their security,” said Chief Justice Paula M. Carey of the Massachusetts Trial Court, who also testified in support during Tuesday’s hearing.
According to the U.S. Marshals Service 2020 annual report, incidents, inappropriate communications, and threats against federal judges and other persons protected by the U.S. Marshals Service rose from 2,357 in FY2016 to 4,261 in FY2020, an increase of 2020.
“Our judicial system and our Commonwealth—as a whole—depends on our judges to ensure that justice is carried out and that public safety is maintained. It is paramount that these individuals are able to do their job without fear,” said Senator Velis. “When these individuals and their families’ safety is at risk, the integrity of our entire democracy is at risk as well. As lawmakers, we must do everything in our power to ensure that these individuals and their families have the protections that they need.”
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