Should Judges' Personal Information be Redacted From Their Financial Disclosures for Another 10 Years? (H.R. 3229)

What is H.R. 3229?

(Updated October 5, 2018)

This bill would extend the Judicial Conference’s authority to redact personal and sensitive information from the financial disclosure report of a judge or judicial employee if it finds that revealing the information could endanger that individual or one of their family members through 2027. The Judicial Conference is the national policy-making body for the federal courts.

Argument in favor

Judges need to be free from threats and harassment carried out by those who want to undermine the judiciary’s independence. This ensures they can keep sensitive personal information private.

Argument opposed

If a person uses a judge’s financial disclosures to obtain information on them, they’d be liable for any crimes or harassment they carry out against the judge or their family. There’s no need to redact that information.

Impact

Judges and their families; those who would use the judge’s personal information for nefarious reasons; and the Judicial Conference.

Cost of H.R. 3229

The CBO estimates that enacting this bill wouldn’t impact spending or revenues.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sponsoring Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) introduced this bill to protect judges and their families from threats and harassment by letting the Judicial Conference continue to redact their personal information:

“An independent judiciary is fundamental to our constitutional democracy and equal justice under the law. [This bill] will protect judicial officers from threats, harm and harassment by those who would seek to compromise the integrity of our judicial branch. I am pleased that the Judiciary Committee was able to expeditiously advance this important and time-sensitive legislation.”

Lead cosponsor Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) added:

“This is an important step to ensure the independence of our judicial branch to rule freely, fairly, and without fear of retribution.  As a tireless advocate for government transparency, I appreciate the appropriate balance this bill strikes between the public’s safety and transparency interests to ensure our judges, who’ve often been targeted and even murdered following tough cases, can safely do their jobs.”

The House Judiciary Committee passed this legislation on a voice vote. The bill currently has the support of three cosponsors, including two Republicans and one Democrat.

Media:

• Cosponsoring Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) Press Release
  
• CBO Cost Estimate