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Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Federal judge's son remembered on the anniversary of his tragic death
The life and sacrifice of Daniel Anderl will be remembered July 19, the fifth anniversary of his death by a gunman targeting his mother, U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas. A Mass of Remembrance for Anderl is scheduled for 5 p.m. at St. Augustine of Canterbury Roman Catholic Church in the Kendall Park section of South Brunswick, with the Rev. Canon Robert G. Lyman, the church's pastor, serving as celebrant and homilist. Anderl was killed five years ago at the family's North Brunswick home by a gunman posing as a delivery person. The gunman was a disgruntled attorney with a case before Salas. When both Daniel and his father, attorney Mark Anderl, answered the door, the gunman opened fire. Daniel was killed and his father was seriously injured. Salas, who was in another part of the home and was not injured, said her son gave his life to save his parents. The gunman, who later took his own life, had personal information about Salas and her family, including where they lived. Salas, who was recently named to the Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni, has advocated for laws to protect judges' personal identifiable information. In 2020 Gov. Phil Murphy signed Daniel's Law, legislation aimed at keeping personal and home identifying information of current and retired judges, prosecutors, law enforcement officials and their families from the public, including online. More: NJ Supreme Court says Daniel's Law is constitutional, journalists must abide In addition, the Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act protects the personal information of federal judges and their families. Salas has said she has relied on her faith to move forward after her son's death and forgave his killer because "hate is heavy, love is light." Anderl was his parents' only child, a 2014 graduate of the St. Augustine of Canterbury School and 2018 graduate of St. Joseph High School in Metuchen. He was studying at Catholic University to become a lawyer like his parents. More: NJ federal judge whose son was murdered: Attacks on judges worrisome for democracy On July 19, 2020, 72-year-old Roy Den Hollander, a self-proclaimed anti-feminist attorney who had a case before Salas, went to the family's home dressed as a delivery person with the intent of attacking the judge. Den Hollander, who found Salas's personal information on the internet, was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Rockland County, New York the day after the shooting. Email: srussell@ Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today This article originally appeared on NJ federal judge's son remembered on anniversary of his tragic death
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
NJ Supreme Court says Daniel's Law is constitutional, journalists must abide
Daniel's Law, enacted by the state Legislature to protect the home addresses and phone numbers of judicial and law enforcement officials, is "narrowly tailored" to protect those officials and their families from harm and threats, yet also complies with the freedom of speech and press guarantees in the Constitution, the state Supreme Court has ruled. Daniel's Law was enacted after Daniel Anderl, son of federal Judge Esther Salas, was fatally shot at their North Brunswick home in July 2020 by a disgruntled attorney, posing as a deliveryman, who was stalking Salas. The gunman had complied a dossier of information about Salas, including her home address. Daniel's Law allows the individuals covered under the law to prevent the disclosure of their home address and unpublished phone number by filing a request for non-disclosure with the person or business who has the information. The Supreme Court ruling on June 17 was on a case brought by Charles Kratovil, editor of New Brunswick Today, who was working on a story in 2023 that Anthony Caputo, then New Brunswick's police director and board member of the city's Parking Authority, had a voting address in Cape May, suggesting that Caputo lived hours away from New Brunswick. Caputo retired as police director in 2024. "I am pleased that this case may very well have accelerated Anthony Caputo's departure from New Brunswick, because his poor leadership was negatively impacting our police department and parking authority, where he held onto public positions for much longer than he should have," said Kratovil, who was represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey Foundation and the law firm of Lowenstein Sandler. More: Phil Murphy, Matt Platkin vow increased security for NJ officials after Minnesota shooting After Kratovil discovered through an Open Public Records Act request that Caputo was registered to vote in Cape May, Kratovil shared the voter registration information, including Caputo's address, with members of the Parking Authority's board on March 22, 2023. At a May 5, 2023 City Council meeting, Kratovil spoke during the public portion, identifying the street but not the house number on Caputo's voter profile. Ten days later, Kratovil received a letter from Caputo saying that under the provisions of Daniel's Law, he was a "covered person" whose home address and phone number are not subject to disclosure. Caputo requested that Kratovil cease disclosing the information and remove it from the internet. Daniel's Law allows a "covered person" to make that request in writing. The law also allows possible civil or criminal penalties if the request is not honored. According to court papers, Kratovil said the notice gave him "reasonable grounds to fear that he would be a target for an enforcement action that would seek to criminalize his investigative journalism." However, no civil action has been filed against Kratovil, nor has any criminal proceeding been instituted, court papers say. Kratovil then filed a show cause order in Middlesex County Superior Court, arguing that provisions of Daniel's Law are unconstitutional because they infringe on the freedom of speech and press. He also asked for an injunction barring any civil or criminal penalties against him. Judge Joseph Rea on Sept. 21, 2023 denied the show cause order, ruling that while Kratovil had lawfully obtained Caputo's home address, the exact street address was "logically immaterial" to the public question whether Caputo resided in Cape May. Rea ruled that protection of public officials was "a state interest of the highest order" and said Daniel's Law was "as narrowly tailored as possible to achieve its purpose by way of the least restrictive means." Kratovil then appealed Rea's decision to the state Appellate Division which ruled that Caputo's residence in Cape May was a matter of public interest, but his street address was not. The appellate court also ruled that Rea's decision did not have a "chilling effect" on Kratovil's journalism because the court had not told him "what he could or could not publish." More: NJ federal judge whose son was murdered: Attacks on judges worrisome for democracy The state Supreme Court then accepted Kratovil's appeal of the Appellate Division ruling. In its 40-page decision, the justices agreed with the lower court's rulings that Daniel's Law was "narrowly tailored" by "the least restrictive means" and does not apply to all public employees and officials. The law only applies to judges, law enforcement officers, prosecutors and child protective investigators in the state Division of Child Protection and Permanency. The justices found that Daniel's Law was constitutional and did not accept Kratovil's suggestions that the law be changed. "While I am disappointed by the ruling, I will continue to advocate for transparency and work hard to serve the public interest here in the community that I call home," Kratovil said. The justices also found that there is no liability for publishing addresses or phone numbers until that person invokes the protection of Daniel's Law by providing notice. Kratovil said he was "disappointed" in the ruling. "While the New Jersey Supreme Court agreed with us that this was a matter of public concern, they also said that the law was narrowly tailored to achieve a compelling government purpose of the highest order, even though it was the government that released the address in question," he said in a statement. "When the government provides information to the media, the U.S. Supreme Court instructs courts to assume that the government should use other tools to guard against the dissemination of that information and not take the extreme step of punishing truthful speech. We are disappointed that the New Jersey Supreme Court did not follow this precedent." The ruling comes days after a man disguised as a police officer shot and killed Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman, a former speaker of the state House, and her husband Mark, and wounded a state senator and his wife early Saturday. The accused gunman, 57-year-old Vance Luther Boelter, was captured late Sunday night. Email: mdeak@ This article originally appeared on NJ Supreme Court says Daniel's Law is constitutional, press must abide Solve the daily Crossword
