Midyear Meeting

Danger of doxing for governmental officials has to be addressed, says ABA House

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Government entities should adopt legislation and policies to prevent the disclosure of personally identifiable information of active and former officials and employees as well as the family members who live in their homes, the ABA House of Delegates says. (Image from Shutterstock)

Government entities should adopt legislation and policies to prevent the disclosure of personally identifiable information of active and former officials and employees as well as the family members who live in their homes, the House of Delegates said at the ABA Midyear Meeting in Phoenix on Monday.

The Government and Public Sector Lawyers Division proposed Resolution 202, which said protected information should include home addresses and only be disclosed if an individual gives consent. The resolution also asks bar associations not to publish personally identifiable information of government officials, employees and their family members in membership directories or online databases without their consent.

“We should not have to live in fear,” Darcee Siegel, a delegate from the Government and Public Sector Lawyers Division, said when introducing the measure. “Violence and threats of violence are taking a toll on our institutions and our civil servants.”

In 2021, federal judges, court employees and jurors received more than 4,500 threats and other inappropriate communications, according to the resolution’s report, which cites data reported by CNN. That same year, members of the U.S. Congress received more than 9,600 threats.

State and local judges and government workers also have reported threats and been the targets of violence, the report adds. In one high-profile incident in October 2023, Washington County Circuit Court Judge Andrew Wilkinson was shot in the driveway of his Maryland home by a man who lost custody of his children at an earlier hearing. Wilkinson died at the hospital.

Resolution 202 builds on several measures the House has adopted to protect judges and other public officials. Another judicial security measure, Resolution 201, was also introduced and approved on Monday. It urges jurisdictions to conduct individualized reviews of their current court security measures and what might be needed to enhance those measures.

In August, the House called on the U.S. Congress to enact legislation that establishes a State Judicial Threat Intelligence and Resource Center. It would provide technical assistance and training on state and local judicial security; monitor threats; develop standards for incident reporting; and create a national database that tracks and shares threat information.

Follow along with the ABA Journal’s coverage of the 2025 ABA Midyear Meeting here.

In 2021, the House supported the Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act, later passed by Congress with bipartisan support. The law is named after U.S. District Judge Esther Salas’ 20-year-old son, who was shot and killed at her home in New Jersey the previous year. It makes it more difficult for violent individuals to find judges’ addresses and personal information online.

The House overwhelmingly adopted Resolution 202. It was co-sponsored by the Judicial Division, Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice, Section of State and Local Government Law, Standing Committee on Gun Violence and Standing Committee on Public Education.

“There truly is no higher calling than working for the government, and for those of us, including myself, our work is our career, not just a job,” Siegel said. “Society cannot function without public servants and thus we must take every effort to protect those individuals and their families.”

See also:

Impact of trauma on judges, their families and court staff should be studied, ABA House says

An attack on a judge’s family is putting judicial security center stage

Disinformation and the safety of election officials must be addressed, ABA House says