Judicial security bill authored after fatal shooting of judge’s son advances to full Senate

Federal legislation designed to protect members of the judiciary in the aftermath of the fatal shooting of one judge’s son at his home is advancing through the U.S. Senate.

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Dec. 2 endorsed the Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act of 2021.

Named for the late son of Judge Esther Salas, the legislation would protect judges’ personally identifiable information from resale by data brokers, according to the U.S. Courts.

Daniel Anderl was fatally shot in July 2020 after a gunman opened fire on Daniel and his father, Mark Anderl. The two shared a home with Salas, judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, who is married to Mark.

The gunman was Roy Den Hollander, a self-described “anti-feminist” who later died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Hollander posed as a FedEx delivery man to gain access to the home.

Mark survived his wounds.

In the aftermath of the shooting, the federal judiciary began calling for increased judicial security.

Hoosier judges echoed those calls, with some saying they’ve also experienced dangerous situations because of their public-facing roles.

The legislation, S.2340, will also allow federal judges to redact personal information displayed on federal government websites and prevent publication of personal information by other businesses and individuals when there is no legitimate news media or other public interest.

“Threats against judges continue to rise,” Salas said in a statement released by the U.S. Courts. “I know first-hand this is a matter of life and death, and for the sake of my fellow judges and their families, Congress must not wait any longer.

“Congress must act now,” she said. “Every day that goes by without action leaves our federal judges and their families, our justice system, and our very democracy in danger.”

The bipartisan bill will now head to the full Senate for consideration. It was authored by Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey and co-sponsored by Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and John Kennedy of Louisiana, and Democratic Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Dick Durbin of Illinois and Dianne Feinstein of California.