State Division of Police rebuked for its handling of OPRA requests

In her ruling on 10/30/2017, Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson rebuked the Division of State Police for its abysmal handling of OPRA requests, noting the agency’s “pattern and practice” of taking weeks or months to respond. The article contains an audio clip of the Judge’s comments on the matter that is worth a listen.  Open Read More …

NJFOG takes West Windsor-Plainsboro Board of Education to court

NJFOG v. West Windsor-Plainsboro Board of Education, filed 3/17/17, is the latest effort by NJFOG to increase OPMA/OPRA compliance. The suit follows others in Mercer County against the Trenton Board of Ed. in 2015 and the Lawrence Township Council & Board of Ed. in 2016.   See our case summary for more detail.     Read More …

CASE SUMMARY: NJFOG v. West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional Board of Education et al.

Case Name:  NJFOG v. West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional Board of Education et al. Docket Number:  MER-L-000562-17 County / Vicinage:  Mercer Filing Date:  March 17, 2017 Judge:  Jacobson, Mary C. Status:  Closed, disposed 11/08/2017   Overview: This case is an OPRA/OPMA lawsuit brought as part of NJFOG’s affirmative litigation initiative to better define the requirements under these Read More …

Mercer Judge rules for release and un-redaction of emails related to event planning

The Record received 90 heavily redacted pages from the governor’s office in response to a lawsuit seeking emails pertaining to planning for the Harrison PATH ceremony held 3 days after the Bridgegate scandal broke. Mercer County Judge Mary C. Jacobson rejected the administration’s claim that the communications were exempt as “advisory, consultative or deliberative” or Read More …

Trenton ordered to disclose “internal” memo Re its social media policy

While more and more public agencies have harnessed the power of Facebook and other social media sites to get their message out, it is not without meeting some administrative challenges.  Questions often arise as to whether all users should be allowed to comment and if all comments should be allowed, and towns vary in how Read More …