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UPDATE (6/20/2017): Minutes from as far back as July 3, 2002 were up for approval at the June 7, 2017 meeting of the Deerfield Township Committee, per the agenda. “Denying the public access to meeting minutes for 15 years certainly does not satisfy the “promptly available” requirement of the Open Public Meetings Act, N.J.S.A. 10:4-14,” Read More …
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 …
Records requestors are often given redacted (i.e. black-lined) versions of the minutes from their town council’s or school board’s closed or executive meetings. Sometimes, the redactions are explained only by a vague description such as “on-going litigation” while other times no reasons at all are given. Because requestors aren’t quite sure what has been redacted, Read More …
Records requestors seeking minutes of non-public (closed or executive) session meetings often encounter roadblocks, from outright denials to delays to complete redactions. And in some cases, minutes are just a few lines long consisting of boiler plate language that offers no real information. Sometimes there is even a question as to whether minutes have been Read More …
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 See the “unpublished opinions” in the right-hand column on the Judiciary’s web site HERE.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 …