Committee hears bill to shield judges’ personal data after attacks on judiciary

House Judiciary Committee members heard testimony on House Bill 4,397, the Judicial Protection Act, a measure that would let judges request that certain personally identifying information (PII) about them and immediate family members be withheld from public display to reduce doxxing and threats.

The bill’s sponsor told the committee the proposal mirrors a federal law and aims to bring state judges into parity with protections already available to many federal judges.

U.S. District Judge Esther Salas told the committee that five years after a gunman killed her son and wounded her husband, judges face an evolving range of threats that include weaponized deliveries and public disclosure of home addresses. "Dozens and dozens of pizzas have been delivered to judges' homes," Salas said, arguing that such actions are used to intimidate and to signal, "we know where you live. We know where your children live." She urged lawmakers to pass the bill to make it harder for attackers to find judges and their families.

Judge David McKeague, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, said the federal Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act—which he said passed Congress with bipartisan majorities—did not cover state-held records and state judges. He…