[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4436 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4436

      To improve the safety and security of the Federal judiciary.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 16, 2021

Ms. Sherrill (for herself and Mr. Fitzpatrick) introduced the following 
       bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
      To improve the safety and security of the Federal judiciary.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and 
Privacy Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE; RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.

    (a) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to improve the safety and 
security of Federal judges, including senior, recalled, or retired 
Federal judges, and their immediate family, to ensure Federal judges 
are able to administer justice fairly without fear of personal reprisal 
from individuals affected by the decisions they make in the course of 
carrying out their public duties.
    (b) Rules of Construction.--
            (1) In general.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed--
                    (A) to prohibit, restrain, or limit--
                            (i) the lawful investigation or reporting 
                        by the press of any unlawful activity or 
                        misconduct alleged to have been committed by an 
                        at-risk individual or their immediate family; 
                        or
                            (ii) the reporting on an at-risk individual 
                        or their immediate family regarding matters of 
                        public concern;
                    (B) to impair access to decisions and opinions from 
                a Federal judge in the course of carrying out their 
                public functions; or
                    (C) to limit the publication or transfer of 
                personally identifiable information that the at-risk 
                individual or their immediate family member voluntarily 
                publishes on the internet after the date of enactment 
                of this Act.
            (2) Protection of personally identifiable information.--
        This Act shall be broadly construed to favor the protection of 
        the personally identifiable information of at-risk individuals 
        and their immediate family.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Members of the Federal judiciary perform the important 
        function of interpreting our Constitution and administering 
        justice in a fair and impartial manner.
            (2) In recent years, partially as a result of the rise in 
        the use of social media and online access to information, 
        members of the Federal judiciary have been exposed to an 
        increased number of personal threats in connection to their 
        role. The ease of access to free or inexpensive sources of 
        personally identifiable information has considerably lowered 
        the effort required for malicious actors to discover where 
        individuals live, where they spend leisure hours, and to find 
        information about their family members. Such threats have 
        included calling a judge a traitor with references to mass 
        shootings and serial killings, calling for an ``angry mob'' to 
        gather outside a judge's home and, in reference to a United 
        States courts of appeals judge, stating how easy it would be to 
        ``get them.''
            (3) Between 2015 and 2019, threats and other inappropriate 
        communications against Federal judges and other judiciary 
        personnel increased from 926 in 2015 to approximately 4,449 in 
        2019.
            (4) Over the past decade, several members of the Federal 
        judiciary have experienced acts of violence against themselves 
        or a family member in connection to their Federal judiciary 
        role, including the murder of the family of United States 
        District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois Joan 
        Lefkow in 2005.
            (5) On Sunday July 19, 2020, an assailant went to the home 
        of Esther Salas, a judge for the United States District Court 
        for the District of New Jersey, impersonating a package 
        delivery driver, opening fire upon arrival, and killing Daniel 
        Anderl, the 20-year-old only son of Judge Salas, and seriously 
        wounding Mark Anderl, her husband.
            (6) In the aftermath of the recent tragedy that occurred to 
        Judge Salas and in response to the continuous rise of threats 
        against members of the Federal judiciary, there is an immediate 
        need for enhanced security procedures and increased 
        availability of tools to protect Federal judges and their 
        families.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) At-risk individual.--The term ``at-risk individual'' 
        means--
                    (A) a Federal judge; or
                    (B) a senior, recalled, or retired Federal judge.
            (2) Data broker.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``data broker'' means a 
                business or commercial entity when it is engaged in 
                collecting, assembling, or maintaining personal 
                information concerning an individual who is not a 
                customer, client, or an employee of that entity in 
                order to sell the information or otherwise profit from 
                providing third party access to the information.
                    (B) Exclusion.--The following activities conducted 
                by a business or commercial entity, and the collection 
                and sale or licensing of personally identifiable 
                information incidental to conducting these activities 
                do not qualify the entity as a data broker:
                            (i) Engaging in reporting, newsgathering, 
                        speaking, or other activities intended to 
                        inform the public on matters of public interest 
                        or public concern.
                            (ii) Providing 411 directory assistance or 
                        directory information services, including name, 
                        address, and telephone number, on behalf of or 
                        as a function of a telecommunications carrier.
                            (iii) Utilizing personal information 
                        internally, providing access to businesses 
                        under common ownership or affiliated by 
                        corporate control, or selling or providing data 
                        for a transaction or service requested by or 
                        concerning the individual whose personal 
                        information is being transferred.
                            (iv) Providing publicly available 
                        information via real-time or near-real-time 
                        alert services for health or safety purposes.
                            (v) A consumer reporting agency to the 
                        extent that it is covered by the Federal Fair 
                        Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.).
                            (vi) A financial institution to the extent 
                        that it is covered by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley 
                        Act (Public Law 106-102) and implementing 
                        regulations.
                            (vii) An entity to the extent that it is 
                        covered by the Health Insurance Portability and 
                        Accountability Act (Public Law 104-191).
            (3) Federal judge.--The term ``Federal judge'' means--
                    (A) a justice or judge of the United States, as 
                those terms are defined in section 451 of title 28, 
                United States Code;
                    (B) a bankruptcy judge appointed under section 152 
                of title 28, United States Code;
                    (C) a United States magistrate judge appointed 
                under section 631 of title 28, United States Code;
                    (D) a judge confirmed by the United States Senate 
                and empowered by statute in any commonwealth, 
                territory, or possession to perform the duties of a 
                Federal judge; and
                    (E) a judge of the United States Court of Federal 
                Claims appointed under section 171 of title 28, United 
                States Code.
            (4) Government agency.--The term ``Government agency'' 
        means any department enumerated in section 1 of title 5 of the 
        United States Code, independent establishment, commission, 
        administration, authority, board or bureau of the United States 
        or any corporation in which the United States has a proprietary 
        interest. The term includes all such institutions, offices, and 
        any other bodies politic and corporate of the United States 
        Government created by the constitution or statute, whether in 
        the executive, judicial, or legislative branch; all units and 
        corporate outgrowths created by Executive order of the 
        President or any constitutional officer, by the Supreme Court 
        of the United States, or by resolution of the United States 
        Congress.
            (5) Immediate family.--The term ``immediate family'' means 
        a spouse, child, parent, or any other familial relative of an 
        at-risk individual whose permanent residence is the same as the 
        at-risk individual.
            (6) Personally identifiable information.--The term 
        ``personally identifiable information'' means--
                    (A) a home address, including primary residence or 
                secondary residences;
                    (B) a home or personal mobile telephone number, or 
                the direct telephone number of a government-issued cell 
                phone or private extension in the chambers of an at-
                risk individual;
                    (C) a personal email address;
                    (D) the social security number, driver's license 
                number, or home address displayed on voter registration 
                information;
                    (E) a bank account or credit or debit card 
                information;
                    (F) home or other address displayed on property tax 
                records or held by a Federal, State, or local 
                government agency of an at-risk individual, including a 
                secondary residence and any investment property at 
                which an at-risk individual resides for part of a year;
                    (G) license plate number or home address displayed 
                on vehicle registration information;
                    (H) identification of children of an at-risk 
                individual under the age of 18;
                    (I) full date of birth;
                    (J) a photograph of any vehicle that legibly 
                displays the license plate or a photograph of a 
                residence that legibly displays the residence address;
                    (K) the name and address of a school or day care 
                facility attended by immediate family; or
                    (L) the name and address of an employer of 
                immediate family.
            (7) Social media.--The term ``social media'' means any 
        online electronic medium, a live-chat system, or an electronic 
        dating service--
                    (A) that primarily serves as a medium for users to 
                interact with content generated by other third-party 
                users of the medium;
                    (B) that enables users to create accounts or 
                profiles specific to the medium or to import profiles 
                from another medium; and
                    (C) that enables one or more users to generate 
                content that can be viewed by other third-party users 
                of the medium.
            (8) Transfer.--The term ``transfer'' means to sell, 
        license, trade, or exchange for consideration the personally 
        identifiable information of an at-risk individual or immediate 
        family.

SEC. 5. PROTECTING PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION IN PUBLIC 
              RECORDS.

    (a) Government Agencies.--
            (1) In general.--Each at-risk individual may--
                    (A) file written notice of the status of the 
                individual as an at-risk individual, for themselves and 
                immediate family, to each Government agency; and
                    (B) ask each Government agency described in 
                subparagraph (A) to mark as private their personally 
                identifiable information and that of their immediate 
                family.
            (2) No public posting.--Government agencies shall not 
        publicly post or display publicly available content that 
        includes personally identifiable information of an at-risk 
        individual or immediate family. Government agencies, upon 
        receipt of a written request in accordance with subsection 
        (a)(1)(A) of this section, shall remove the personally 
        identifiable information of the at-risk individual or immediate 
        family from publicly available content within 72 hours.
            (3) Exceptions.--Nothing in this section shall prohibit a 
        government agency from providing access to records containing 
        judges' personally identifiable information to a third party if 
        the third party possesses a signed release from the judge or a 
        court order, the entity is already subject to the requirements 
        of title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (15 U.S.C. 6801 et 
        seq.), or the third party executes a confidentiality agreement 
        with the government agency.
    (b) State and Local Governments.--
            (1) Grant program to prevent disclosure of personal 
        information of at-risk individuals or immediate family.--
                    (A) Authorization.--The Attorney General shall make 
                grants to prevent the release of personally 
                identifiable information of at-risk individuals and 
                immediate family (in this subsection referred to as 
                ``judges' personally identifiable information'') to the 
                detriment of such individuals or their families to an 
                entity that--
                            (i) is--
                                    (I) a State or unit of local 
                                government (as such terms are defined 
                                in section 901 of the Omnibus Crime 
                                Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 
                                (34 U.S.C. 10251)); or
                                    (II) an agency of a State or unit 
                                of local government; and
                            (ii) operates a State or local database or 
                        registry that contains personally identifiable 
                        information.
                    (B) Application.--An eligible entity seeking a 
                grant under this section shall submit to the Attorney 
                General an application at such time, in such manner, 
                and containing such information as the Attorney General 
                may reasonably require.
            (2) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
        to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to provide 
        grants to entities described in paragraph (1) to create or 
        expand programs designed to protect judges' personally 
        identifiable information, including through--
                    (A) the creation of programs to redact or remove 
                judges' personally identifiable information, upon the 
                request of an at-risk individual, from public records 
                in state agencies; these efforts may include but are 
                not limited to hiring a third party to redact or remove 
                judges' personally identifiable information from public 
                records;
                    (B) the expansion of existing programs that the 
                State may have enacted in an effort to protect judges' 
                personally identifiable information;
                    (C) the development or improvement of protocols, 
                procedures, and policies to prevent the release of 
                judges' personally identifiable information;
                    (D) the defrayment of costs of modifying or 
                improving existing databases and registries to ensure 
                that judges' personally identifiable information is 
                protected from release; and
                    (E) the development of confidential opt out systems 
                that will enable at-risk individuals to make a single 
                request to keep judges' personally identifiable 
                information out of multiple databases or registries.
            (3) Report.--
                    (A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the 
                date of enactment of this Act, and biennially 
                thereafter, the Comptroller General of the United 
                States, shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary 
                of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
                House of Representatives an annual report that 
                includes--
                            (i) a detailed amount spent by States and 
                        local governments on protection of judges' 
                        personally identifiable information; and
                            (ii) where the judges' personally 
                        identifiable information was found.
                    (B) States and local governments.--States and local 
                governments that receive funds under this section shall 
                submit to the Comptroller General a report on data 
                described in clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A) 
                to be included in the report required under that 
                subparagraph.
    (c) Data Brokers and Other Businesses.--
            (1) Prohibition.--
                    (A) Data brokers.--It shall be unlawful for a data 
                broker to knowingly sell, license, trade for 
                consideration, or purchase personally identifiable 
                information of an at-risk individual or immediate 
                family.
                    (B) Other businesses.--No person, business, or 
                association shall publicly post or publicly display on 
                the internet personally identifiable information of an 
                at-risk individual or immediate family if the at-risk 
                individual has made a written request of that person, 
                business, or association to not disclose the personally 
                identifiable information of the at-risk individual or 
                immediate family.
                    (C) Exceptions.--The restriction in subparagraph 
                (B) shall not apply to--
                            (i) the display on the internet of the 
                        personally identifiable information of an at-
                        risk individual or immediate family if the 
                        information is relevant to and displayed as 
                        part of a news story, commentary, editorial, or 
                        other speech on a matter of public concern;
                            (ii) personally identifiable information 
                        that the at-risk individual voluntarily 
                        publishes on the internet after the date of 
                        enactment of this Act; or
                            (iii) personally identifiable information 
                        received from a Federal Government source (or 
                        from an employee or agent of the Federal 
                        Government).
            (2) Required conduct.--
                    (A) In general.--After a person, business, or 
                association has received a written request from an at-
                risk individual to protect personally identifiable 
                information of the at-risk individual or immediate 
                family, that person, business, or association shall--
                            (i) remove within 72 hours the personally 
                        identifiable information from the internet and 
                        ensure that the information is not made 
                        available on any website or subsidiary website 
                        controlled by that person, business, or 
                        association; and
                            (ii) ensure that the personally 
                        identifiable information of the at-risk 
                        individual or immediate family is not made 
                        available on any website or subsidiary website 
                        controlled by that person, business, or 
                        association.
                    (B) Transfer.--After receiving an at-risk 
                individual's written request, no person, business, or 
                association shall transfer the personally identifiable 
                information of the at-risk individual or immediate 
                family to any other person, business, or association 
                through any medium, except where the at-risk 
                individual's or immediate family member's personally 
                identifiable information is relevant to and displayed 
                as part of a news story, commentary, editorial, or 
                other speech on a matter of public concern. The 
                restriction on transfer shall also not apply to 
                personally identifiable information that the at-risk 
                individual or immediate family voluntarily publishes on 
                the internet after the date of enactment of this Act.
    (d) Delegation of Authority.--
            (1) In general.--Upon written request of the at-risk 
        individual, the Director of the Administrative Office of the 
        United States Courts is authorized to make any notice or 
        request required or authorized by this section on behalf of the 
        at-risk individual. The Director may delegate this authority 
        under section 602(d) of title 28, United States Code. Any 
        notice or request made under this subsection shall be deemed to 
        have been made by the at-risk individual and compliant with the 
        notice and request requirements of this section.
            (2) List.--In lieu of individual notices or requests, the 
        Director may provide government agencies, State and local 
        governments, data brokers, persons, businesses, or associations 
        with a list of at-risk individuals and their immediate family 
        for the purpose of maintaining compliance with this section. 
        Such list shall be deemed to comply with individual notice and 
        request requirements of this section.
    (e) Redress and Penalties.--
            (1) In general.--An at-risk individual or immediate family 
        member whose personally identifiable information is made public 
        as a result of a violation of this Act may bring an action 
        seeking injunctive or declaratory relief in any court of 
        competent jurisdiction. If the court grants injunctive or 
        declaratory relief, the person, business, or association 
        responsible for the violation shall be required to pay the at-
        risk individual's or immediate family member's costs and 
        reasonable attorney's fees.
            (2) Penalties and damages.--Upon a knowing and willful 
        violation of any order granting injunctive or declarative 
        relief obtained pursuant to this subsection, the court issuing 
        such order may--
                    (A) if the violator is a public entity, impose a 
                fine not exceeding $4,000 and require the payment of 
                court costs and reasonable attorney's fees;
                    (B) if the violator is a person, business, 
                association, or private agency, award damages to the 
                affected at-risk individual or immediate family in an 
                amount up to a maximum of 3 times the actual damages, 
                but not less than $10,000, and require the payment of 
                court costs and reasonable attorney's fees.

SEC. 6. TRAINING AND EDUCATION.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to the Federal judiciary 
such sums as may be necessary for biannual judicial security training 
for active, senior, or recalled Federal judges and their immediate 
family, including--
            (1) best practices for using social media and other forms 
        of online engagement and for maintaining online privacy;
            (2) home security program and maintenance;
            (3) understanding removal programs and requirements for 
        personally identifiable information;
            (4) any other judicial security training that the United 
        States Marshals Services and the Administrative Office of the 
        United States Courts determines is relevant.

SEC. 7. VULNERABILITY MANAGEMENT CAPABILITY.

    (a) Authorization.--
            (1) Vulnerability management capability.--The Federal 
        judiciary is authorized to perform all necessary functions 
        consistent with the provisions of this Act, and to support 
        existing threat management capabilities within the United 
        States Marshals Service and other relevant Federal law 
        enforcement and security agencies. Such functions may include--
                    (A) monitor the protection of at-risk individuals 
                and judiciary assets;
                    (B) manage the monitoring of websites for 
                personally identifiable information of at-risk 
                individuals or immediate family and remove or limit the 
                publication of such information; and
                    (C) receive, review, and analyze complaints by at-
                risk individuals of threats, whether direct or 
                indirect, and report to law enforcement partners.
            (2) Technical and conforming amendment.--Section 604(a) of 
        title 28, United States Code is amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (23), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) by redesignating paragraph (24) as paragraph 
                (25);
                    (C) by inserting after paragraph 23 the following:
            ``(24) Establish and administer a vulnerability management 
        program in the judicial branch; and''.
    (b) Expansion of Capabilities of Office of Protective 
Intelligence.--There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may 
be necessary to the United States Marshals Service to expand the 
current capabilities of the Office of Protective Intelligence of the 
Judicial Security Division to increase the workforce of the Office of 
Protective Intelligence to include additional intelligence analysts, 
United States deputy marshals, and any other relevant personnel to 
ensure that the Office of Protective Intelligence is ready and able to 
perform all necessary functions, consistent with the provisions of this 
Act, in order to anticipate and deter threats to the judiciary, 
including--
            (1) assigning personnel to State and major urban area 
        fusion and intelligence centers for the specific purpose of 
        identifying potential threats against the judiciary, and 
        coordination of responses to potential threats;
            (2) expanding the use of investigative analysts, physical 
        security specialists, and intelligence analysts at the 94 
        judicial districts and territories to enhance the management of 
        local and distant threats and investigations; and
            (3) increasing the number of United States Marshal Service 
        personnel for the protection of the judicial function and 
        assigned to protective operations and details for the 
        judiciary.
    (c) Report.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than one year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Department of Justice, in 
        consultation with the Administrative Office of the United 
        States Courts, shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary 
        of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House 
        of Representatives a report on the security of Federal judges 
        arising from the Federal prosecutions and civil litigation.
            (2) Description.--The report required under paragraph (1) 
        shall describe--
                    (A) the number and nature of threats and assaults 
                against at-risk individuals handling prosecutions and 
                other matters described in paragraph (1) and the 
                reporting requirements and methods;
                    (B) the security measures that are in place to 
                protect the at-risk individuals handling prosecutions 
                described in paragraph (1), including threat 
                assessments, response procedures, availability of 
                security systems and other devices, firearms licensing 
                such as deputations, and other measures designed to 
                protect the at-risk individuals and immediate family of 
                an at-risk individual; and
                    (C) for each requirement, measure, or policy 
                described in subparagraphs (A) and (B), when the 
                requirement, measure, or policy was developed and who 
                was responsible for developing and implementing the 
                requirement, measure, or policy.

SEC. 8. SEVERABILITY.

    If any provision of this Act or the application of such provision 
to any person or circumstance is held to be unconstitutional, the 
remainder of this Act and the application of such provision to any 
person or circumstance shall not be affected thereby.

SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act shall take effect upon the date of enactment of this Act, 
except for subsections (b)(1), (c), and (e) of section 5, which shall 
take effect on the date that is 120 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act.
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