Should elected officials’ address be shielded from the public?
That’s the view of Linden’s Democrat mayor, Derek Armstead, who issued a call on Wednesday for Trenton to update “Daniel’s Law” to include New Jersey’s elected officials.
“In light of its proven success, it is imperative to extend the purview of Daniel’s Law to also protect elected government officials and their family members, further bolstering its impact and effectiveness.” said Armstead. “Expanding Daniel’s Law to include elected government officials will only strengthen public service by protecting those who serve, allowing them to focus on making our communities safer.”
The law arose out of the July 19, 2020 murder of federal Judge Esther Salas’s son, Daniel, when a disgruntled attorney posed as a FedEx driver and shot the victim as well as Salas’s husband who was severely wounded. Daniel’s Law (P.L. 2020, c. 125) bars the disclosure of the addresses of active and retired judges, prosecutors, police, and immediate family members. Their names are removed from public documents upon registering with the state, and certain consequences attach to unlawful disclosures of the protected individuals’ barred personal information.
“So long as there are those who – for whatever twisted reason – target our judges, prosecutors, or law enforcement officers, Daniel’s Law will stand in their way,” Murphy explained at his 2020 bill signing ceremony.
But adding elected officials to the list of protected individuals is sure to be controversial. Even without Armstead’s proposed edit, members of the media have complained about the impact of the law on accountability (e.g. investigating whether an elected official is using an improper address on their taxes or to run for office from a certain jurisdiction).
