Judicial Privacy Act
What it does, who it protects, and how to invoke it. Plain English.
Who it protects
Active, former, or deceased judicial officers in Illinois. The statute covers US Supreme Court and Illinois Supreme Court justices, US Court of Appeals judges, US District Court judges and magistrate judges, US Bankruptcy Court judges, Illinois Appellate Court judges, Illinois Circuit Court judges and associate judges, and Illinois administrative law judges. It does not cover prosecutors, peace officers, or law enforcement generally.
What it does
Lets a covered judicial officer send a written request that requires the recipient to remove listed personal information (home address, phone numbers, personal email, SSN, financial account numbers, marital status, and the identity of children under 18) from the internet. The law sets a 72-hour deadline for private parties and 5 business days for government agencies.
How to invoke it
Send a written request under 705 ILCS 90 to the person, business, or government agency publishing your personal information. State that you are a covered judicial officer, identify the exact information and where it appears, and ask for removal. The law is not self-executing: nothing happens until you send the request.
Enforcement reality
The statute sets removal deadlines of 72 hours for private parties and 5 business days for government agencies. A judicial officer whose information is published in violation of the Act may sue for injunctive or declaratory relief, and a court that grants relief must order the violator to pay the officer's costs and reasonable attorney's fees. The Act does not appear to provide separate monetary damages, making this a narrower remedy than Daniel's Law's per-violation payout.
What the Judicial Privacy Act does
If you are a judge in Illinois, this law gives you a way to require your home address and other personal details be taken off the internet. It is codified at 705 ILCS 90 and took effect September 22, 2012, under Public Act 97-847.
You send a written request to whoever is publishing your information. Once they receive it, a private person or business has 72 hours to take the information down, stop republishing it, and stop selling or transferring it to anyone else. A government agency has 5 business days to remove it from anything publicly available.
The law is not self-executing. Until you send the written request, no one has any obligation to remove anything.
Who it covers, and who it doesn't
The Act calls you a "judicial officer" if you fall into one of these categories, whether you are active, former, or deceased:
- Justice of the United States Supreme Court or the Illinois Supreme Court
- Judge of the United States Court of Appeals
- Judge or magistrate judge of a United States District Court
- Judge of the United States Bankruptcy Court
- Judge of the Illinois Appellate Court
- Judge or associate judge of an Illinois Circuit Court
- Administrative law judge, as defined in the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act
Prosecutors and peace officers are not on that list. If you are a state's attorney, an assistant state's attorney, or a sworn officer in Illinois, this statute does not apply to you. New Jersey's Daniel's Law covers judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement together; Illinois covers only the judicial roles above. Officers and prosecutors in Illinois need a different tool, and this statute does not reach them.
What information is covered
The statute protects a specific list, not a general privacy right:
- Home address
- Home telephone number
- Mobile or cell phone number
- Pager number
- Personal email address
- Social Security number
- Federal tax identification number
- Checking and savings account numbers
- Credit card numbers
- Marital status
- Identity of children under 18
If a broker or a public-facing database shows any of these, it falls under the statute. Your courtroom assignment, your docket, and your published opinions do not.
How to use it
- Confirm you are a covered judicial officer. Check the list above. If you are a prosecutor or peace officer, this statute will not help; look at other Illinois or federal options instead.
- Find the listing. Get the exact page and URL showing your protected information. A free scan will surface the broker sites carrying it.
- Write the request. Cite 705 ILCS 90, state that you are a covered judicial officer, and list exactly what is showing and where.
- Send it in writing. Use email if there is a privacy contact, or certified mail if you want proof of delivery.
- Track the deadline. 72 hours for private parties and businesses, 5 business days for government agencies. Save the send date so you know when the deadline passes.
- Check for compliance. Screenshot the listing after the deadline. If it is still up, that screenshot is your evidence.
What happens if they ignore the request
The Act gives you a civil remedy. A judicial officer whose personal information is published in violation of the law may bring an action for injunctive or declaratory relief in any court of competent jurisdiction. If the court grants that relief, the violator must pay your costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
What the Act does not appear to include is a separate monetary damages award for each violation. That makes it a narrower remedy than Daniel's Law in New Jersey, which attaches a per-violation payout. If you are weighing whether to go past a written request, talk to counsel before you file.
What we do here
Frontline Privacy helps covered Illinois judicial officers send Judicial Privacy Act requests and tracks the responses against the statutory deadlines. If your information comes back later, we keep checking and file again. This is part of the Frontline Privacy plan for individual covered persons.
If you are a prosecutor or peace officer in Illinois, this law does not cover you. See Illinois for other protections that may apply to your situation.