The 2025 State of Judiciary Personal Data Exposure

Judges and court officials across the United States have faced a sharp rise in threats and harassment in recent years, often fueled by the easy availability of their personal information on people-search and data broker websites. Home addresses, phone numbers, and other personal data are frequently exposed online for a few dollars or even for free, making it easier for disgruntled litigants, extremists, or stalkers to locate and target judges. Over the past five years, this problem has escalated: the number of threatening or harassing communications directed at federal judges and court personnel has surged to unprecedented levels.¹ This report examines the trends in judges’ data exposure and related threats since roughly 2019, highlights notable harassment incidents across federal, state, and local levels, and reviews the legal and policy responses aimed at protecting judges’ personal information.

Growing Threats and Data Exposure (Trend Overview)

Escalating Threats: Threats and harassment against judges have increased dramatically over the past five years. According to U.S. Marshals Service data, “serious threats” (those triggering investigations) against federal judges more than doubled from 224 in fiscal year 2021 to 457 in 2023.² This marks a steep rise from 2019, when 179 such threats were recorded.³ In total, federal authorities documented nearly 27,000 threatening or harassing communications targeting court officials from 2015 through 2022 – an unprecedented volume in modern history. Similar patterns are reported at the state level. For example, Wisconsin’s court system recorded 142 threats against state judges in a single year, prompting lawmakers to consider new protections. Arizona’s Maricopa County (home to Phoenix) logged over 400 threats or harassing incidents aimed at judges, staff, and courts from 2020 to 2023, after noticing a spike around the 2020 election. These figures underscore that judges at all levels – federal, state, and local – are facing a more hostile environment than in the past.

Role of Data Brokers: A key factor in this trend is the widespread exposure of judges’ personal data on the public web, especially via data broker and people-search sites. Judges’ home addresses, phone numbers, and family details often appear in online databases that anyone can access for a nominal fee.⁴ This fuels “doxing” – the malicious publication of personal info – which has become disturbingly common. Privacy experts warn that online threats and harassing messages against judges have more than doubled in the past few years, driven in part by how easily assailants can obtain judges’ private information online.⁵ In many cases, those with violent intent have simply bought judges’ home address or phone number from a data broker and then used that information to menace or harm them. The trend over time is clear: as more personal data has become available on the internet, incidents of doxing, threats, and harassment targeting the judiciary have grown in frequency and severity.

Findings from DeleteMe Scan Data

These trends are consistent with findings from our DeleteMe’s data when comparing the amount of instances of exposed PII detected on average per employee. After new members onboard and are scanned for the first time, the judicial sector has more than 550 exposed data points per employee – nearly 45% more exposure than the average across all industries. (Figure 1)

This fact, combined with both increasing rates of personal data exposure over the years (Figure 2) and increasing types of personal data being correlated back to a single personal profile (Figure 3), are evidence of why threats are increasingly utilizing this easily accessible, low hanging fruit in targeted attacks. 

Notable Incidents of Doxing, Threats, and Harassment

Over the last five years, numerous incidents in the news have highlighted the dangers posed when judges’ personal information is exposed online. These cases span federal, state, and local jurisdictions:

• Attack on Judge Esther Salas (2020): In a tragic high-profile case, a disgruntled former litigant targeted U.S. District Judge Esther Salas at her New Jersey home. The attacker, a self-described “anti-feminist” lawyer, found Judge Salas’s home address on the internet (purchasing it from a people-search site) and showed up at her door posing as a delivery driver.⁶ He opened fire, killing Judge Salas’s 20-year-old son and wounding her husband. This attack – facilitated by the assailant’s ability to obtain the judge’s personal data online – was a wake-up call for the country. It vividly illustrated how exposed personal information can lead to real-world violence.
  
• Doxing of U.S. Supreme Court Justices (2022): Even the nation’s highest judges have been targeted. After the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022, hacktivists “doxxed” five Supreme Court justices by posting a trove of their personal details online.⁷ The leaked information included the justices’ home addresses (and even some financial details), an apparent attempt to invite harassment or intimidation. This privacy breach against the Justices – reportedly in retaliation for the controversial ruling – underscored that no judge is immune from doxing when personal data is readily available.
  
• Harassment of Judges in Political Cases (2020–2023): Judges presiding over politically charged cases have faced unprecedented waves of threats, often abetted by online exposure of their data. For instance, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth in Washington, D.C., who handled high-profile January 6th Capitol riot cases, endured a barrage of death threats. One man obtained Judge Lamberth’s home phone number (likely via online lookup) and repeatedly called his residence with graphic threats to murder him.¹ Right-wing websites and forums also circulated judges’ personal details alongside calls for violence in retaliation for rulings perceived as unfavorable. Judges and prosecutors involved in cases related to former President Trump have been especially targeted – their home addresses and contact info have surfaced on extremist message boards, followed by spikes in threats and hostile messages. In one example, a state court judge in New York handling a Trump-related trial had his address and family details posted on social media, with users urging protests at his home (). These coordinated harassment campaigns are often enabled by data broker sites that aggregate and publish personal information.
  
• State and Local Judges Targeted: Doxing and violence have also struck judges at the state and local levels. In October 2023, Maryland Circuit Court Judge Andrew Wilkinson was shot and killed outside his home by a man upset over a custody ruling. Investigators revealed the suspect found the judge’s home address online months earlier – the judge’s wife stated that “the internet led him to Drew [Judge Wilkinson]”.¹² Similarly, in June 2022, a retired county judge in Wisconsin, John Roemer, was ambushed and killed in his home by a gunman carrying a “hit list” of public officials – an attack that authorities believe was premeditated and facilitated by the judge’s publicly available address. These tragedies, while extreme, highlight the real danger when personal data (like home addresses) of judges is accessible to would-be attackers. Even when physical harm is not carried out, the threat of violence is often very real: judges across the country report that online abuse and doxing incidents have made them fear for their families’ safety, and some have taken to carrying firearms for protection.¹ In short, public exposure of judges’ personal data has directly contributed to intimidation, threats, and even lethal attacks in multiple recent cases.
  

Legal and Policy Responses to Protect Judges’ Personal Data

In response to these mounting threats, lawmakers and judicial authorities have pursued a range of legal and policy measures to protect judges’ personal information and improve their security. Below is a summary of key actions and proposals (with links to relevant legislation and policies):

• Federal Judicial Privacy Law (Daniel Anderl Act, 2022): In December 2022, Congress enacted the Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act (named after Judge Salas’s late son). This law prohibits data brokers from selling federal judges’ personally identifiable information and allows judges to have personal info removed or redacted from public databases. Specifically, it protects judges’ personal data from resale by data brokers and permits federal judges to redact home addresses and contact info displayed on government websites. It also bars other businesses or individuals from publishing judges’ personal details if there’s no legitimate public interest. The law had broad bipartisan support and was a direct response to the Salas tragedy.
  
• New Jersey’s “Daniel’s Law” (2020): At the state level, New Jersey moved quickly after the Salas attack to pass Daniel’s Law, which shields the personal information of judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement officers. This state law forbids the disclosure of the home addresses of active or retired judges (and immediate family) in public records, and it allows those officials to request the removal of their home address from any internet site or database.⁸ Daniel’s Law was one of the first and strongest state responses, setting a model for others by exempting judges’ home info from public records laws.
  
• New State Legislation Protecting Judges’ Data: In the past few years, many states have introduced or enacted laws to curb public exposure of judges’ personal data. As of 2024, at least 10 states have passed new judicial privacy measures, and over 60 bills have been considered across 21 states.⁹ For example, Missouri’s Judicial Privacy Act (2022) covers not only state judges but also federal judges and prosecutors, allowing them to keep personal information (like home addresses) confidential. Florida expanded its existing judge-address confidentiality statute to include court staff and clerks’ employees as well. In Georgia, lawmakers unanimously approved a bill enabling any public employee (including judges at federal, state, or local levels) to request that their home address and phone number be removed from county property records posted online.⁸ Likewise, states such as Delaware, Nebraska, Idaho, and others have updated laws to prevent government agencies from releasing judges’ personal info in public documents or databases. These measures aim to close the data exposure loopholes at the state and local record level.
  
• Penalizing or Preventing Doxing of Judges: Some jurisdictions are adding teeth to anti-doxing protections. In Maryland, after Judge Wilkinson’s murder, a bill was proposed to punish the malicious posting of a judge’s personal information when it is intended to facilitate harm.¹⁰ Similarly, a bill in Minnesota to prohibit “doxing” of judges cleared a legislative panel in 2023, reflecting growing interest in making the online targeting of judges a specific offense.¹¹ These efforts seek to deter would-be harassers by making it illegal to knowingly expose judges’ home addresses or other private details in a threatening context.
  
• Judiciary Security Programs: The federal judiciary and law enforcement have also taken internal steps to protect judges. The U.S. Marshals Service’s Judicial Security Division, which guards federal judges, has expanded monitoring and threat response capabilities in light of rising incidents.³ Judges are now offered enhanced home security systems and training. Notably, the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts provides federal judges with an online privacy service (such as subscriptions to “DeleteMe”) to pro-actively remove judges’ personal information from data broker websites. This service continuously scans and deletes judges’ addresses and phone numbers from people-search sites. Such measures have become a standard “perk” of the job in recent years, reflecting the new reality that scrubbing personal data from the internet is essential for judges’ safety. At the state level, court offices are increasingly advising judges on how to opt out of online databases, and some sheriff’s departments now conduct extra patrols or “swatting” prevention for judges who have been doxxed.¹
  
• Federal Regulatory Action on Data Brokers: Beyond judicial-specific laws, broader privacy reforms are being considered. In late 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed a new rule to regulate data brokers and curb the sale of sensitive personal data that could endanger individuals like judges and law enforcement. The CFPB cited the risk of violence and stalking posed by data broker practices, explicitly referencing the 2020 incident where a judge’s son was murdered by an assailant who purchased the judge’s address from a data broker. The proposed rule would bring data brokers under stricter federal oversight (treating them like consumer reporting agencies) and ban the sale of personal identifiers – such as addresses and phone numbers – without strict safeguards.⁵ This regulatory push, alongside an FTC warning to data sellers after the Roe v. Wade ruling, shows a growing federal resolve to clamp down on the data broker industry in the interest of public safety.

Each of these responses – from new laws and regulations to court-led security programs – seeks to reduce the exposure of judges’ personal data and thus diminish the opportunities for criminals or harassers to target them. In summary, the past five years have seen a concerted effort to address the nexus between data exposure and threats to the judiciary, through enhanced privacy protections, anti-doxing measures, and improved security for judges at all levels. Legislators and court officials alike recognize that protecting judges’ personal information is vital to safeguarding the justice system and ensuring judges can do their jobs without fear of violent reprisal.

References:

1. Reuters: Judges in Trump-related cases face unprecedented wave of threats
2. Reuters: Exclusive: Threats to US federal judges double since 2021, driven by politics
3. The Florida Bar: Federal judges grapple with escalating threats – The Florida Bar
4. Lawfare Media: Data Brokers and Threats to Government Employees
5. CFPB: CFPB Proposes Rule to Stop Data Brokers from Selling Sensitive Personal Data to Scammers, Stalkers, and Spies
6. USCourts.gov: Congress Passes the Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act
7. The Register: Supremes ‘doxxed’ after overturning Roe v Wade
8. WABE.org: Georgia, other states shield addresses of judges, workers after threats
9. Judicature: States Move to Protect Judges’ Safety
10. WMAR2 News: Judge’s murder prompts considered bill to conceal personal information
11. Session Daily: Anti-doxing bill to protect judges clears judiciary panel
12. CBS News: Judge shot, killed in Wisconsin home by gunman with alleged hit list