A contingent of New Jersey State Bar Association leaders represented state’s legal community at the American Bar Association’s Annual Meeting in Chicago from July 31 to Aug. 6, helping pass a proposal to strengthen judicial safety.
Appearing on behalf of New Jersey attorneys, NJSBA delegates to the ABA – including President William H. Mergner Jr. and Past President Timothy F. McGoughran – joined thousands of colleagues in state bar associations around the country. The annual meeting culminated with the House of Delegates, a two-day session that brought together 590 delegates from ABA entities and state, local and specialty bar associations.
The NJSBA supported ABA Resolution 516, a measure that urges Congress to pass the Countering Threats and Attacks on Our Judges Act. The bill seeks to improve the security of judges, their staff and their families by creating a State Judicial Threat and Intelligence Resource Center to provide security assessments, research and data collection for judges and court personnel around the country. The U.S. Senate passed the bill by unanimous consent in June. It is currently under consideration by the U.S. House of Representatives.
Resolution 516 was among roughly four dozen resolutions that passed through the ABA House of Delegates. Along with Mergner and McGoughran, the NJSBA was represented by former NJSBA Presidents Karol Corbin Walker, Thomas H. Prol and Lynn Fontaine Newsome, NJSBA Second Vice President G. Glennon Troublefield, Jeffrey J. Greenbaum, Jonathan W. Wolfe and Christopher Jackson.
“Our judicial system is a singular branch of the American government and represents the peaceful, unbiased, and independent resolution of disputes…In recent times, that reliance has waned and an unfortunate few, yet extremely disgruntled, individuals have resorted to violence and threats against judges, their families, and court staff to express their disdain, frustration, or outright
hostility for the judiciary process,” the resolution states. “Passage of this resolution will provide support to the efforts currently being made in Congress to advance the cause of providing and increasing necessary support to judicial security.”
The NJSBA has strongly supported security and privacy protections for judges at both the state and federal levels following the July 2020 attack at U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas’ New Jersey home. The ambush by a disgruntled attorney left Salas’ son Daniel Anderl dead and husband Mark critically injured. The tragedy inspired Daniel’s Law, a measure backed by the NJSBA that allowed state and federal judges in New Jersey– along with law enforcement officers, prosecutors and their immediate family – to request the removal of certain personal information from all public-facing websites. The law took effect last year.
The ABA successful resolutions include:
• Resolution 601 – Urged the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment as the 28th amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
• Resolution 512 – Asked Congress to establish a National Human Rights Institution.
• Resolutions 506, 509 and 511 – Dedicated to Native Americans and other indigenous people.
• Resolution 507 – Urged government action to alleviate medical debt.
• Resolution 504 – Seeks repeal of remaining provisions of the 19th century Comstock Act.
• Resolution 301 and 514 – Addresses field placements for law students.
• Resolution 607 – Asked governments to limit the criteria for involuntary civil commitment of people with mental health disabilities as a strategy to address homelessness.
• Resolution 502– Urged legislation permitting courts to hear petitions that allow de novo hearings.
• Resolution 503 – Advocated for the establishment and expansion of Offices of Equity.