NJ Appellate Court says only a requestor can sue under OPRA. NJ Supreme Court to hear appeal.

UPDATE (8/8/2017):  The NJ Supreme Court issued its decision on August 3, 2017. NJFOG is working on a summary of the ruling and will post it soon. UPDATE (5/2/2016):  The NJ Supreme Court has agreed to hear the Firemen’s Association’s appeal of the Appellate Division’s ruling that only requestors and not custodians can file an Read More …

Media companies begin appeal of N.J. public records ruling

UPDATE (9/10/2016):  See bottom of post. — The pivotal question of whether or not a public agency can respond to a request for records by neither confirming nor denying that they exist is before the NJ Appellate Division. -NJFOG NorthJersey.com Nov. 17, 2015 By SALVADOR RIZZO State House Bureau | The Record (Full article here and Read More …

EDITORIAL: Put openness on government’s agenda

Interpreting the term “agenda” in the the outdated OPMA, the Appellate Division ruled on Aug. 18 in Opderbeck v. Midland Park Board of Education that the board does not need to provide supplementary documents with its meeting agendas. However, the Court called for modernization of the outdated law to coincide with today’s simplified means of Read More …

N.J. school district did not violate Sunshine Law, judge says

The Appellate Division on August 18 reversed a lower court ruling that required the Midland Park School Board to provide more documentation with its meeting agendas.  The upper court said the outdated OPMA law did not require it but called for modernization of the OPMA to coincide with today’s simplified means of communication and document Read More …

Fallout of the Appellate Division’s Lyndhurst ruling

NJFOG previously posted an article about the June 11 Appellate Court ruling in North Jersey Media Group, Inc. v. Township of Lyndhurst. The decision, available here, severely restricts access to a wide range of law enforcement records that many trial courts had previously opined are public. The inevitable fallout of the Lyndhurst decision is now being felt Read More …