New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed a bill on Friday which protects the home addresses and telephone numbers of judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement officers from public disclosure.
The bill amends the Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”) to exclude the portion of any document which discloses the home address of any active or retired judge, prosecutor, or law enforcement official from the definition of a public government record. The bipartisan legislation also allows these individuals whose personal address or telephone information has been made available to the public to request that the information be removed. The law requires the person or entity who published the information to remove it within 72 hours of receiving such a request. The bill also makes it a crime for government agencies, individuals, and businesses to publish the addresses and telephone numbers of state judges or their families.
Governor Murphy expressed that the law intends to represent a concrete action taken in response to the senseless act of gun violence committed against Daniel Salas. “This is a renewed commitment to ensure our judiciary, prosecutors, and members of law enforcement who answer the call of justice can do so without fear for their personal safety, or that of their loved ones[,]” stated Governor Murphy.
The law is named after the late son of U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas, Daniel Salas, who was shot and killed by an individual who accessed Judge Salas’ home address from public records. Roy Den Hollander shot and killed Daniel Salas last July after Hollander was able to find the address of Judge Salas’ home in public records. An FBI investigation revealed that Hollander, a self-proclaimed anti-feminist, previously had a case before Judge Salas and “criticized her in online postings because he thought the case was moving too slowly.” Judge Salas stated, “[h]e was angry with me for being a woman. He was angry with me for being Latina.”
Judge Salas expressed her gratitude toward the New Jersey legislature for enacting the law. She stated, “[w]e hope this law can be a stepping stone to improving the security of my sisters and brothers who serve as federal judges throughout the country.”
