Bill Text: MI SB0871 | 2023-2024 | 102nd Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Courts: judges; personal information and physical safety protections for judges, their families, and household members; enhance. Creates new act.
Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-1)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-09 - Referred To Committee On Civil Rights, Judiciary, And Public Safety [SB0871 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2023-SB0871-Introduced.html
SENATE BILL NO. 871
A bill to protect the safety of judges and certain other individuals; to protect certain information of judges and certain other individuals from disclosure; to provide for the powers and duties of certain state and local governmental officers and certain other people and entities; and to provide remedies.
the people of the state of michigan enact:
Sec. 1. This act may be cited as the "judicial protection act".
(a) "Immediate family member" means the spouse, child, parent, or any other familial relative of a judge whose permanent residence is the same as the judge's permanent residence.
(b) "Judge" means any of the following:
(i) A state court judge, which includes only a judge or justice who is serving by election or appointment on the district court, probate court, circuit court, court of appeals, or supreme court of this state.
(ii) A federal judge as that term is defined in the Daniel Anderl judicial security and privacy act, Public Law 117-263, or a senior, recalled, or retired federal judge, and who serves, served, or has a residential address in this state.
(iii) A judge serving on a tribal court for a federally recognized tribe located in this state.
(c) "Person" means an individual, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, firm, organization, association, or other legal entity but does not include a public body.
(d) "Personal identifying information" means any 1 or more of the following:
(i) Except as provided in section 3(5), date of birth.
(ii) Except for the city and township of residence, permanent residential address.
(iii) Address of other property owned.
(iv) Home or cellular telephone number.
(v) State identification number or driver license number.
(vi) Social Security number.
(vii) Personal email address.
(viii) Federal or state tax identification number.
(ix) Personal credit, charge, or debit card information.
(x) Bank account information, including account or PIN numbers.
(xi) License plate number or other unique identifier of a vehicle that is owned, leased, or regularly used by a judge or a judge's immediate family member.
(xii) Current or future school or day-care information including, but not limited to, the name or address of the school or day care attended, schedule of attendance, or route taken to or from the school or day care by a judge or a judge's immediate family member.
(xiii) Information on the employment location, except a court house, of a judge or a judge's immediate family member including the name or address of the employer, employment schedules, or routes taken to or from the employer.
(e) "Public body" means any of the following:
(i) A state officer, employee, agency, department, division, bureau, board, commission, council, authority, or other body in the executive branch of the state government, but does not include the governor or lieutenant governor, the executive office of the governor or lieutenant governor, or employees thereof.
(ii) An agency, board, commission, or council in the legislative branch of the state government.
(iii) A county, city, township, village, intercounty, intercity, or regional governing body, council, school district, special district, or municipal corporation, or a board, department, commission, council, or agency thereof.
(iv) Except as provided under subparagraph (v), any other body that is created by state or local authority or is primarily funded by or through state or local authority, except the judiciary, including the office of the county clerk and its employees when acting in the capacity of clerk to the circuit court, is not included in the definition of public body.
(v) If approved by the supreme court, the judiciary.
(f) "Residential address" means the place that is the settled home or domicile at which an individual legally resides and is a residence as defined in section 11 of the Michigan election law, 1954 PA 116, MCL 168.11.
Sec. 3. (1) A judge may request that a public body or person not publicly post or display the covered information of a judge or a judge's immediate family member.
(2) A judge may submit a written request, on a form prescribed by the state court administrative office, to a public body or person to prevent disclosure of or remove a public posting or display of covered information of the judge or the judge's immediate family member. The form must include information on the appropriate methods to provide the form to a public body or person and require both of the following, as applicable:
(a) Proof of the judge's office and identity.
(b) The covered information of the judge, the judge's immediate family member, or the individual residing with the judge that the judge desires to protect.
(3) A written request provided to a public body or person under subsection (2) remains in force and effect until the judge provides a signed written permission to allow the public body or person to release some or all of the covered information.
(4) On the written delegation of authority by a state court judge as that term is defined in section 2(b)(i) to the state court administrative office, the state court administrative office may submit a written request to a public body on behalf of a judge under subsection (2). A written request under this subsection must be given the same force and effect as a written request submitted by a judge.
(5) To comply with section 19 of article VI of the state constitution of 1963, a judge's date of birth may be obtained by any person by contacting the state court administrative office.
Sec. 4. (1) Except as otherwise provided, a public body that has received a request under section 3 shall not publicly post or display or provide to a person the specified covered information of a judge or a judge's immediate family member, as applicable. A public body that has already publicly posted or displayed the specified covered information shall remove the covered information within 5 business days. This act does not require a public body to permanently delete covered information that is not accessible to the public.
(2) Except as otherwise provided, a person that has received a request under section 3 shall not publicly post or display or sell, transfer, or provide to another person the specified covered information of a judge or a judge's immediate family member, as applicable. A person that has already publicly posted or displayed the covered information shall remove the covered information within 5 business days.
Sec. 5. This act does not apply to either of the following:
(a) The display of the covered information of a judge or a judge's immediate family member 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.
(b) After the effective date of this act, covered information voluntarily published by the judge or the judge's immediate family member.
Sec. 6. Any covered information covered by a written request under section 4(1) is exempt from disclosure under section 13(1)(d) of the freedom of information act, 1976 PA 442, MCL 15.243, by the public body that received the written request.
Sec. 7. (1) If a public body or a person is not complying with this act, the judge may commence a civil action to compel compliance or to enjoin further noncompliance with this act.
(2) An action for injunctive relief against a local public body or person must be commenced in the circuit court, and venue is proper in any county in which the judge serves. An action for an injunction against a state public body must be commenced in the court of claims. If a judge commences an action for injunctive relief, the judge is not required to post security as a condition for obtaining a preliminary injunction or a temporary restraining order.
(3) An action for mandamus against a public body under this act must be commenced in the court of appeals.
(4) If a public body or person is not complying with this act, and a judge commences a civil action against the public body or person for injunctive relief to compel compliance or to enjoin further noncompliance with this act and succeeds in obtaining relief in the action, the judge must recover court costs and actual attorney fees for the action.
(5) It is not a defense to a violation of this act that the covered information disclosed was publicly available from another source.
Sec. 8. This act must be construed liberally to effectuate the legislative intent and the purpose of this act as complete and independent authorization for the performance of each and every act and thing authorized in the act, and all powers granted in this act must be broadly interpreted to effectuate the intent and purpose of this act and not as to limitation of powers.
