Often, public agencies deny requests for records relating to misconduct or crime and claim that the records are part of an “investigation in progress” and therefore not subject to OPRA. It is true that OPRA does provide an exemption for ongoing investigations, but it is important to know how this exemption is applied.
First, OPRA specifically states that ongoing investigation does not apply to records that were “open for public inspection, examination, or copying before the investigation commenced.” N.J.S.A. 47:1A-3a. This means that a video recording that recorded a ...
Most public agencies have adopted official OPRA Request Forms that they place on their websites. For frequent requestors, filling out the official form each and every time a request is made can be time consuming so many opt to send their requests in the body of an email to the records custodian. According to New Jersey case law, this is perfectly acceptable. In Renna v. County of Union, 407 N.J. Super. 230 (App. Div. 2009), the Appellate Division held that no public agency may deny an OPRA request simply because the requestor did not use the agency’s official OPRA Request Form. However, a ...
Published by Media & Entertainment and New Jersey Law360
Elected officials and government employees are often overly cooperative with media when the subject matter involves an issue near and dear to their hearts, advances their political talking points, or is otherwise beneficial to them. But, when the media is attempting to uncover scandal, government waste or potential wrongdoing, journalists often find that their requests for interviews and information are denied and that the elected official suddenly has “no comment.”
Many people ask whether the emails sent to or from a public employee or public official are subject to the Open Public Records Act (OPRA). The answer is yes – email correspondence is subject to OPRA if government business is discussed or conducted. That is true even if the public employee or official uses a private email account.
The Government Records Council has held that a valid request for emails requires the following:
- Date range. Note that the range must not be overbroad—requests for months or years of emails may very likely be held to be too broad.
- Subject matter. We recommend ...
Some public agencies routinely deny access to invoices for attorney services, claiming that such bills contain information protected by the attorney-client privilege. OPRA, however, specifically mandates that these bills must be made available in response to an OPRA request. The public bills may, however, “be redacted to remove any information protected by the attorney-client privilege.”
Recently, a public agency attempted to charge a requestor an hourly rate for its attorney’s time to review the legal bills and redact them for privileged information. The public ...
When a dispute involves a public agency, public property, or public resources, the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) can be an important information gathering tool, whether a lawsuit has already been filed or a party is simply gathering facts necessary to draft the complaint and initiate the litigation. Thus, OPRA is frequently used as a litigation tool by those who do business with public agencies or those who purchase or lease public property, such as construction companies and real estate developers.
Our courts have found that it is perfectly acceptable to use OPRA in lieu of written ...
1414332335
When you make a valid OPRA request, a public agency has seven business days to respond. But, if your request is invalid for some reason, the custodian can deny your request. The clock will then start all over again if you re-write your request and re-submit it. Here are some basic guidelines to help you craft requests that will be upheld by the courts:
- Make sure that your request seeks a record, and not information. Invalid Request: “Please provide the times when Employee X arrives to work.” Valid Request ...
Pursuant to the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA), meeting minutes must be “promptly available” to the public. Our courts have held that “promptly available” means within two weeks after the public body’s last meeting or at least 48 hours prior to the next meeting. At any point after that, you are free to submit an OPRA request for the minutes and access must be granted within seven (7) business days. But what about closed/executive session minutes?
OPMA allows a public body to meet in closed session to shield certain information from the public. Among other things, these ...
Per OPRA, public agencies must respond to a request for records within seven business days. But what do you do if the government fails to respond (a deemed denial) or unlawfully refuses to grant access to the records?
The best course of action is to immediately speak to an attorney, who can work with you to gain access to the records. This frequently requires a lawsuit filed in Superior Court. The most important thing to remember is that your action must be filed within the statute of limitations, which is 45 days. The process for filing in Superior Court is as follows:
- A Verified Complaint and ...
Over the past few years, New Jersey courts have expanded the definition of “public agency” under the Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”) so that it covers more than what is traditionally thought to be a government agency (i.e. municipalities and state agencies). Through a series of cases, our courts have made it clear that non-profit corporations can be subject to OPRA if they serve as an “instrumentality” of a public agency.
Last week, the Hon. Judge Peter E. Doyne held that the Rutherford Downtown Partnership (“RDP”), a non-profit organization that manages the ...
