CJ Griffin Quoted in Article on Denial of Requests for Coronavirus Data, Including PPE Data
CJ Griffin, Director of the Justice Gary S. Stein Public Interest Center at Pashman Stein Walder Hayden, was quoted in northjersey.com article, “Murphy administration cites 'terrorism' concerns to keep NJ coronavirus weak points secret.” The article discusses the State’s denial of requests for coronavirus data that would help the public judge New Jersey’s response to the pandemic.
In particular, the article discusses the denial of a request by the USA TODAY NETWORK Trenton Bureau for information about personal protection equipment (PPE) that medical facilities reported on a daily basis as required by Governor Murphy. Griffin filed an appeal on behalf of the Network, which was denied on the basis that “providing that information ‘could expose a facility to a potential act of terrorism or sabotage.’ ”
"By making records open for inspection, public officials know that someone is watching and looking for wrongdoing," said CJ Griffin, a lawyer at Pashman Stein Walder Hayden in Hackensack and an [authority] on public records, who has challenged several of the denials on behalf of the Network. "The public should be very concerned when an agency goes dark and stops responding to OPRA requests, because it means there’s no one playing a watchdog role."
Please click here for an online version of the article.