Last week, the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) urged the New Jersey congressional delegation to advocate and pass legislation that would protect the confidentiality of judges. The letter highlights the American Bar Association’s Resolution 10E, which advocates a federal version of Daniel’s Law. The law protects the dissemination of identifiable information about judges that would make it easier for an individual to locate and potentially harm judges.
“No one is beyond the threat that exists when personal information gets into the hands of disgruntled litigants,” NJSBA President Kimberly A. Yonta said. The NJSBA supported the bill as an important measure to protect the independence of the Judiciary.
Last year, U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez and U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill introduced the Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act of 2020. The bill provides funding to increase protections for judges throughout the country and strengthens the confidentiality provisions as they relate to judges and certain judicial personnel.
New Jersey passed Daniel’s law last year, following the tragic death of United States District Court Judge Esther Salas’s only son, Daniel Anderl. Judge Salas’s son and husband came under attack in their home by a disgruntled attorney posing as a delivery person and wielding a gun. Her husband was seriously injured in the attack. The gunman was found dead and with what appeared to be a dossier of judges suspected to be targeted as victims of future attacks by him.
“The attack on Judge Salas’s family was – above all – a personal attack, but also an attack on judicial independence,” Yonta said. “The Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act is an important step to protect not just these individuals and their families, but to fortify the independence of the Judiciary that our country holds in highest regard.”
The NJSBA further urged that the bill be expanded to include immigration law judges. It continues to monitor the progress of this issue on the federal level.
NJSBA approves comprehensive report to replace the Madden system
The NJSBA is poised to advocate an overhaul of the Madden system of assigning attorneys for indigent clients entitled to representation in matters implicating consequences of magnitude. The NJSBA Board of Trustees approved a 55-page report in an effort to ensure effective legal assistance in matters of fundamental rights. The report was the result of 18 months of study by the Right to Counsel Committee, created by NJSBA Past President Evelyn Padin.
“The state has the primary obligation to provide effective counsel in matters implicating consequences of magnitude,” the committee said in its report. “Appointment of unqualified, inexperienced attorneys in matters involving fundamental rights does little to promote the public’s confidence in the independence, integrity and impartiality of the Judiciary. Attorneys, too, have a role in providing public interest legal service however the bar cannot, on its own, fulfill the right to counsel in matters affecting fundamental rights.”
The Madden system was created as a result of the Supreme Court’s opinion in Madden v. Twp. of Delran, 126 N.J. 591 (1992). As a result of the opinion, the Supreme Court conferred the authority on judges to assign attorneys to matters implicating certain fundamental rights. The assignments are issued without regard to an attorney’s experience in the field of law regarding the matter at hand. The courts leave to the attorney the obligation to become familiar with the field of law through complicated training manuals or to retain counsel to provide representation to the indigent client. Only in few cases can an attorney apply to the court to be excused from the case.
The report issues 13 recommendations that include expanding the role of the Office of the Public Defender to take on many of the matters that are currently assigned to attorneys that are “most aligned with [OPD’s] current work,” and directing funding to the OPD for this purpose. It also calls for a regionalized sel system that compensates counsel at the rates of OPD pool attorneys and engages qualified attorneys who are trained in an area of law to provide representation in specific types of matters. As an interim measure, the report calls for Madden assignments to be regionalized and matched to an attorney with competence and experience in handling such cases.
The report was reviewed and contains input from Public Defender Joseph Krakora and county and affinity bar associations. A full copy of the report can be found at njsba.com.
This is a status report provided by the New Jersey State Bar Association on recently passed and pending legislation, regulations, gubernatorial nominations and/or appointments of interest to lawyers, as well as the involvement of the NJSBA as amicus in appellate court matters. To learn more, visit njsba.com.