Union Head Suspended For Posting Judge's HV, LI Home Addresses

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY — Furious at the New York State Court system's new rules on coronavirus vaccinations, the head of the Court Officers Association doxxed the chief judge on Facebook on Wednesday.

On social media, Dennis Quirk called for protests at Chief Judge Janet DiFiore's homes, and published her addresses in Westchester and the Hamptons. He was suspended Thursday, the Daily News reported.

DiFiore had issued a statement Aug. 23, about a new program of mandatory weekly testing for judges and non-judicial employees who have not yet enrolled in the court system’s mask policy program and submitted proof of their vaccinated status. However, on Wednesday, Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence Marks issued a memo that all judges and non-judicial staff must be vaccinated by Sept. 27.

The announcements came as two judges and a court security lieutenant were reported ill with COVID-19, the Daily News reported. The court security officer, who is hospitalized, was both anti-vaccine and anti-mask, the paper said.

T. Andrew Brown, president of the New York State Bar Association, was disturbed by the doxxing, particularly in light of the threat against DiFiore in 2020. Information about her was found in the car of an anti-women activist suspected of shooting a New Jersey judge's son and husband.

"Chief Judge Janet DiFiore’s decision to require that all state court workers and judges be vaccinated against COVID-19 was both morally right and legally sound. It is the chief judge’s responsibility to safeguard lawyers, litigants, and defendants who should not have to choose between access to justice and their own personal health," Brown said. "The New York State Bar Association has called on all New York employers – both public and private - to mandate vaccines for every employee, except for those with a legitimate health issue or religious exemption.

We commend Judge DiFiore for her leadership on this important public health matter, and we condemn the actions of a union leader who retaliated against her by publishing her home addresses and calling for protests at her residences. A year ago last month, a man angry at federal Judge Esther Salas over her handling of a case went to her New Jersey home, shooting and killing her son and seriously wounding her husband. This incident underscores both the danger faced by judges simply for doing their jobs and the need to take all appropriate steps to protect them – especially in their own homes.

"Judges do not have security details. If we do not speak out against and work to prevent senseless attacks against judges, our legal system begins to unravel. We cannot stand by and let this reckless behavior undermine the rule of law."

DiFiore is the state's second female chief judge, following Chief Judge Judith Kaye. The Bronxville resident served three terms as Westchester County district attorney. Prior to that, she spent six years as a judge, including as a Supreme Court justice for the New York State Criminal Courts, 9th Judicial District, from January 2003 to May 2005.

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