Exempting Judge Addresses from Public Records (H 7154)

The ACLU of Rhode Island is well aware of the threats that judicial officers across the country have increasingly faced in recent years, threats that certainly warrant proactive measures. In response, Congress enacted legislation a few years ago that protects the home addresses of judges from disclosure. To the extent there is any remaining concern that Rhode Island’s Access to Public Records Act doesn’t explicitly provide similar protection, which we believe it does, we appreciate and welcome efforts to clarify the law to address that. However, we do not believe that the law should also make secret the municipality in which judges reside.

We believe there is some public benefit to knowing information about judicial officers’ city or town of residence.