New Jersey celebrates its ratification of the Bill of Rights

November 20, 2015 marks the 226th anniversary of New Jersey’s ratification of the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution.   NJ was the first state to ratify. Citizen activists and journalists rely on the freedoms and protections provided by the First Amendment to continue their public advocacy and efforts to improve Read More …

Open-government activist pursues investigation of Cape May County sheriff

“The courts have held that once an investigation is closed, the government’s interest in confidentiality is less,” said Paff, who believes that the public has a right to know what an investigation is about, even if no charges are eventually filed.  -NJFOG Press of Atlantic City / PressofAtlanticCity.com By RICHARD DEGENER, Staff Writer November 17, Read More …

Camden County Judge allows release of racist texts

Courier-Post By Jim Walsh Nov. 17, 2015 (full article here) CAMDEN – Corrections officers who smuggled cellphones into Camden County Jail had no right to privacy once the phones were discovered by investigators, a state judge said Monday. Superior Court Judge Louis Meloni made that finding in rejecting an effort to keep secret more than Read More …

Webinar: A Review of the Open Public Records Act, Dec. 10, 2015, 11:00 AM – noon

The New Jersey League of Municipalities in cooperation with the New Jersey Government Records Council is holding a webinar titled “A Review of the Open Public Records Act” Webinar on December 10, 2015 from 11:00a.m.-12:00p.m.  This webinar will assist the public, local government employees, governing bodies, departments, boards and commissions to better understand the mandatory Read More …

Seminar: OPRA In Depth, Dec. 1, 2015, 9:00 AM – 12:30 PM

The New Jersey League of Municipalities in cooperation with the New Jersey Government Records Council is holding a seminar on the topic of “OPRA In Depth: Redactions, Personal Privacy, Security, ACD, and Attorney Client Privilege” on Tuesday, December 1, 2015 from 9:00a.m.-12:30p.m. at the Doubletree Hotel located on 700 Hope Road in Tinton Falls, NJ 07724. Read More …