New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) President Kimberly A. Yonta today testified before the New Jersey Assembly's Appropriations Committee to support legislation to protect judges and their families.
A-1649 (Quijano) prohibits the publication of addresses and telephone numbers of judges and prosecutors. The NJSBA strongly backs the measure as an important first step in enhancing protections of judges following the attack on U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas.
It was voted out of today's committee and previously was approved by the
Assembly State and Local Government Committee. Read Yonta's full testimony below and Yonta's statement about the attack
here:
I will keep my testimony brief to say that we are grateful for the sponsor of today’s bill, Assemblywoman Annette Quijano, for her sponsorship of A-1649 this legislation and for the efforts to protect our judges and their families.
Threats are visited upon judges across the court system, whether they handle family, civil or criminal matters. They happen to judges when they are on the bench and when they have retired. These threats are an attack not just on individual stewards of the justice, but on the entire system, a cornerstone of our democracy.
We echo the call to action of my friend, Judge Esther Salas, who so poignantly called for a solution to these threats following the tragedy that killed her son, Daniel, and critically wounded her husband, Mark. On behalf of our 18,000 members, I voice our strong support of A-1649, and urge an expansion of the protections that address a number of concerns raised since the tragedy.
We urge this committee to vote “Yes” on A-1649 and stand ready to review, comment, and expound on any proposed revisions or amendments in the upcoming weeks.