Md. lawmakers pass bill to protect judges’ personal information after fatal shooting

A bill that would allow judges to keep their personal information off the internet passed with unanimous support in the Maryland State House, a show of unity that came after October’s fatal shooting of Washington County Circuit Judge Andrew F. Wilkinson.

The bill, which was named for Wilkinson, is awaiting a signature from Gov. Wes Moore.

In a statement, the Maryland Judiciary praised the passage of the bill.

“Judicial officers face risks to their safety by virtue of their positions and the decisions they have to make on a daily basis,” said Terri Charles, an assistant public information officer for the Judiciary.

“The General Assembly’s passage of the Judge Andrew F. Wilkinson Judicial Security Act is an important step in helping protect the safety of judicial officers and their families. We appreciate the efforts of the General Assembly and of Governor Moore to ensure protection for judicial officers and their families. Our thoughts, of course, remain with Judge Wilkinson, who paid the ultimate price for his dedication to justice, and with his family.”

Under the legislation, a judge or magistrate could request that a person or government body not publish their personal information or seek to have their personal information removed from an existing publication. In the language of the bill, “publish” refers to making information available to the general public by posting it online or on social media.

The bill covers current and retired state and federal judges, magistrates, District Court commissioners, and their spouses, children or any other dependents who live with them in Maryland. Judges would be allowed to shield a variety of personal information, including their home addresses, phone numbers and personal email addresses, as well as their child’s name or school.

The legislation creates a new Office of Information Privacy in the Administrative Office of the Courts. The OIP or someone who is protected by the legislation can make requests for personal information to be taken down or not published in the first place. Those requests can be made to government entities or individuals, though the bill does not apply to information that has been publicly disclosed with the consent of the protected person or information that is relevant to a news story “or other speech on matters of public concern.”

Government entities and individuals must remove the personal information within 72 hours of receiving a request under the bill.

The proposal would also add civil and criminal penalties. A person who is protected by the law or the OPI could sue for violations, including punitive damages if the violator willfully refused to remove personal information. A person who violates the law could also be found guilty of a misdemeanor if they know or should know that the personal information poses an “imminent and serious threat” to the protected person and if publishing the information results in an assault, harassment or trespassing.

The bill would also establish a Task Force to Ensure the Safety of Judicial Facilities, which will identify minimum security requirements for courthouses and develop a plan to address any deficiencies.

Lawmakers made passing the bill a priority after Wilkinson was fatally shot outside his home by a man whose divorce and custody case had been before the judge earlier in the day on Oct. 19.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office called the shooting a “targeted attack” and accused Pedro Argote, who lost custody of his four children at a court hearing where Wilkinson also heard testimony about Argote’s controlling and abusive behavior.

Police located Argote’s body in a wooded area near Maryland’s border with West Virginia a week after the shooting.

Authorities have not said how they developed Argote as a suspect or how Argote found Wilkinson’s home in Hagerstown, but Wilkinson’s wife, Stephanie Wilkinson, told lawmakers in February that Argote found the home because of information he discovered online.

“We know that in July 2023, a defendant in a domestic case began searching for my husband on the internet,” she said at a hearing on the judicial security bill. “On Oct. 19, 2023, that man no longer had to search for Drew because the internet easily led him to our home.”

Congress also passed legislation allowing federal judges to remove personal information from government internet sites in 2022, two years after a district court judge’s 20-year-old son was murdered in New Jersey.