NJ Supreme Court hears OPRA case Re 14-hr security video

UPDATE (11/22/16):  John Paff provides this summary: “In a November 22, 2016 decision, a 4 to 2 majority of the New Jersey Supreme Court held that footage from a town hall security camera is not subject to disclosure under the Open Public Records Act (OPRA). The four-Justice majority, through an opinion authored by Justice Jaynee LaVecchia, Read More …

Mayor: Bloomfield subpoenaed in councilman’s bribery case

Following news of bribery charges involving a Bloomfield Councilman, the Council is planning to adopt a local pay-to-play law (hopefully stronger than the state law) and form a local Ethics Commission. Ethics is a hot topic these days. Search our website to read more about related issues, like ethics reform bill S729 and NJFOG’s petition for Read More …

Security camera footage OPRA case goes to NJ Supreme Court

On November 6, 2015, the New Jersey Supreme Court agreed to hear Bloomfield Township’s (Essex County) appeal of a May 13, 2015 Appellate Division ruling that required the Township to provide an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) requestor with 14 hours of video taken by a stationary camera located on the back of Bloomfield’s municipal Read More …

Bloomfield officers convicted in ‘dashcam’ case

“Jeter’s lawyer sought the second dash camera video through an Open Public Records Act request… Based on the newly discovered video, the prosecutor’s office dismissed the charges against Jeter and opened an investigation into the officers that resulted in an Essex County grand jury returning an indictment against the officers in January of 2014.” -from Read More …

CASE SUMMARY: Patricia Gilleran v. Township of Bloomfield

Case Name: Patricia Gilleran v. Township of Bloomfield Docket Numbers: NJ Supreme Court 076114, Appellate Court A-15-15, Trial Court ESX-L-3459-14 County / Vicinage: Essex Filing Date: May 14, 2014 Judge: Justice LaVecchia authored the NJ Supreme Court’s 4 to 2 majority decision. Status: Remanded to the trial court for the resolving of the common law right-to-access Read More …