The Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court recently considered an issue previously decided by the Government Records Council: do the identities of pet owners fall under the privacy exception of the Open Public Records Act (OPRA)? In Bolkin v. Borough of Fairlawn, the short answer was no. However,
Under the Open Public Records Act (OPRA), custodians may impose a reasonable special service charge when fulfilling a records request that “involves an extraordinary expenditure of time and effort.” Having outside counsel review invoices to redact privileged information does not meet the criteria, according to the court’s decision in Nunnermacker
The Superior Court of New Jersey Appellate Division recently published its opinion in the case of American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey (ACLU-NJ) v. New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice (NJ-DCJ). The issue before the court was whether, in response to a request for government records under the Open
On May 5, 2014, the Supreme Court upheld Christian prayers at the beginning of local town meetings in the case Town of Greece v. Galloway. The Court declared the prayer in line with long-standing, national traditions, even though the nation has grown more religiously diverse. The Court was narrowly divided
In 2011, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released guidance for universities and public schools in addressing sexual violence and other forms of sex discrimination under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. On April 29, 2014, the OCR issued further guidance in the form
New Jersey Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson’s ruling in the Empower Our Neighborhood, et al. v. Guadagno, et al. case may have a significant impact on nominating petitions. Empower Our Neighborhood (EON) is an educational and advocacy group that focuses on issues that impact residents of New Brunswick. Facts of
Irvington, New Jersey, is plagued by residents with underwater mortgages, homes in foreclosure and residences left abandoned. In response, the Township Council has authorized the mayor and administration to use eminent domain to acquire properties with mortgage problems. Eminent domain is the procedure whereby governments are allowed to acquire property
In a recent decision, the Superior Court of New Jersey held that the Borough of Cliffside Park violated the state’s Open Public Records Act (OPRA) by failing to provide copies of a settlement agreement executed between the municipality and its former chief of police. The cases, John Paff v. Borough
