Appellate Court rules transparency, Rice Notice required

The Appellate Division has ruled that the absence of discussion about a person’s employment prior to a vote does not relieve the board of its responsibility to advise the employee of his/her right to have the matter publicly discussed. The published decision states: “…[T]he fact that the board voted…without discussion in order to avoid sending…Rice Read More …

Lawsuit cites conflicting Appellate decisions on access to police records

The below blog post about an OPRA lawsuit for police incident reports and “use of force” reports discusses the Appellate decision (North Jersey Media Group v. Lyndhurst Twp.) that cut access to many law enforcement records “that even tangentially relate to criminal investigations.” Plaintiff John Paff, through his attorney, argues for release of the records Read More …

Can meeting minutes be 100% redacted? Appellate Court to weigh in.

UPDATE (3/4/2017): The Appellate Division ruling will be available online after 10 a.m. on Monday, March 6, 2017. See the “unpublished opinions” in the right-hand column on the Judiciary’s web site HERE. — When providing copies of closed (or executive) session minutes under OPRA, public agencies may redact (black out text) as appropriate. For example, Read More …

Commentary on the “No need to confirm nor deny” Appellate ruling

by Raymond Baldino, Esq.   NJFOG foreword: On 8/31/16, the Appellate Division upheld a lower court ruling that the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office could respond to an OPRA request by North Jersey Media by neither confirming nor denying the existence of records related to a Catholic priest who had not been arrested or charged with Read More …

OK to neither confirm nor deny records exist, says Appellate Court

In 2013, North Jersey Media sought records from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office relating to a Catholic priest who had not been arrested or charged with a crime. The agency denied the request and neither confirmed nor denied the existence of records responsive to it. The media outfit sued and lost at the trial level. Read More …