House Committee on Judiciary (JUD) - chair: Karl Rhoads, vice chair: Joy A. San Buenaventura

Tuesday, February 3, 2015, 2:00 p.m., Room 325

Testifier: Janet F. Mason, Co Chair, Legislative Committee

Click here to view HB288

Chair Rhoads, Vice Chair San Buenaventura and Committee Members: The League of Women Voters of Hawaii SUPPORTS HB 288. HB 288 amends Chapter 487J of the Hawaii Revised Statutes to prohibit the unlawful internet posting of sitting full time justice’s or judge’s home address, or personal telephone or cellular phone number and extends the protection to a sitting full time justice or judge’s spouse or child. It specifies that county and state agencies are subject to this prohibition. The League supports the fundamental right to privacy, as enshrined in Hawaii’s constitution, Article I Section 6, which recognizes the right of the people to privacy, a right that shall not be infringed without the showing of a compelling state interest. We live in a world that is increasingly data-driven and data-sharing. Yet data sharing is not always benevolent or impartial. Judges perform an important civic function in our society, providing adjudication between disputants and among parties who are often under extreme emotional duress. Because of this special responsibility, judges can also become targets and victims of disputants unhappy with judicial outcomes. By protecting judges’ personal information from unlawful dissemination on the internet, HB 288 comports with the constitutional requirement that the legislature take affirmative steps to implement the right to privacy. For these reasons, The League of Women Voters urges you to support HB 288. Thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony on this important measure.