New Law To Protect Judges Coming To New York State

There is a new law going into effect in New York State that will help to protect judges and their families from the public.

It's called the New York State Judicial Security Act and essentially it will allow them to scrub every bit of personally identifying information from the internet.  The idea is to help keep them safe by keeping their information like their family's names and their own address from people who might want to harm them.

Why did they come up with this law?

The law was developed after the son of a judge was murdered following a trial in 2020.  We still hear about judges who are being threatened every day in some very high-profile cases even four years later.  The goal is to allow judges and other court personnel to do their jobs without fear of retaliation to them or their families.

“Security for court personnel, including judges and others, is essential to ensure the fair dispensation of justice in New York,” - Judge Mary M. Farley, president of the Association of Justices of the Supreme Court of the State of New York

What does the law actually do?

According to law.com, this law will prevent just about everyone (public and private) from posting, sharing or trading information about judges or other court personnel with others.

How is it that this law is JUST getting passed now?

It seems like you should be protected from having your information broadcast to the world, especially if you are a judge already.  Many are asking how it took so long.  The answer is that some would argue that forcing a private website to take down information is an infringement of their First Amendment rights.

The new law is set to go into effect in July in New York State.