We previously blogged about an OPRA lawsuit we filed on behalf of an activist seeking access to Newark's Amazon HQ2 proposal. We are happy to announce that Newark has now released its proposal to our client.
Newark's proposal is titled, "Yes, Newark." As evidenced by the privilege log it attached to the proposal, Newark redacted approximately 6 pages from its 200+ page proposal. These pages contained the financial incentives that Newark is offering to Amazon. All other information has been disclosed. We consider this a significant transparency victory.
"I strongly believe in open ...
It's a hot button topic: are government officials creating government records that are subject to OPRA when they utilize social media? A judge will soon decide.
CJ Griffin was recently interviewed by Fios 1 News television regarding a lawsuit she filed on behalf of a requestor seeking a list of users that various government officials have blocked from their official Facebook accounts.
The Record also covered the lawsuit.
We think the answer is obvious: if a government official conducts official government business on a social media account (such as updating constituents on official ...
We have always recommended that clients challenge their OPRA denials in Superior Court. Why? Primarily because the process is significantly faster. An action filed in Superior Court will generally be resolved within 2-4 months in most cases, unless there is an appeal. This expedited process is vital to transparency, especially for reporters who need the records to report news to the public in a timely fashion.
In contrast, we have filed 4 denial of access complaints in the GRC and the process was unbearably long. One case took 25 months, another 22 months, and a third took 13 months. The ...
On February 20, 2018, Pashman Stein Walder Hayden partner CJ Griffin filed an OPRA lawsuit against the City of Newark on behalf of long-time client Steven Wronko. The lawsuit seeks access to a copy of Newark's AmazonHQ2 proposal.
For our prior press release about the suit and a copy of the complaint, click here.
On March 26, 2018, Newark moved to dismiss Plaintiff's complaint. In support of its motion, Newark submitted a certification by Aisha Glover, Executive Director of the Newark Community Economic Development Corporation ("NCEDC"), which simply stated that a) Newark is bound by a ...
