Think tanks, lobbyists and special interests that draft model ordinances legislation have made news recently because of N.J. Governor Chris Christies repeated denials that he may have used one of them for some of the initiatives he touts as his own. This has some state and local elected officials questioning
New Jersey governor Gov. Chris Christie has indicated that he will seek the legal opinion of the state attorney general and the governor’s counsel in an effort to determine whether he can go through with his planned merger of Rutgers University and Rowan University. As we discussed last week, there
The proposed merger involving Rutgers University continues to draw criticism. Most recently, opponents of the plan have questioned whether Gov. Christie’s plan will survive legal scrutiny. The controversial plan calls for Rowan University to take over Rutgers’ Camden campus. In addition, Rutgers would absorb three parts of the University of
New Jersey’s Open Records Act continues to dominate the legal headlines. As legislative efforts are underway to expand OPRA New Jersey’s public law schools are seeking to avoid it. The New Jersey Supreme Court will soon decide whether certain records related to the Rutgers Environmental Law Clinic’s representation of its
As we mentioned in our last post, proposed legislation aims to improve government transparency by overhauling and modernizing New Jersey’s Open Records Act (OPRA). This post outlines some of the most important proposed changes under S-1452. To start, the bill would rename OPRA as the “Martin O’Shea Open Public Records
Two bills designed to make it easier for New Jersey residents to obtain public records and increase the openness of government meetings are moving through the Senate. Both pieces of legislation recently cleared the Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism and Historic Preservation Committee and now move to the Senate Budget
The New Jersey Supreme Court recently decided a defamation lawsuit against a weekly New Jersey newspaper, finding that it was not liable for a false front-page teaser. The central issue in Ronald Durando and Gustave Dotoli v. The Nutley Sun and North Jersey Media Group, Inc. was whether the editor
Gov. Chris Christie is seeking a constitutional amendment that would authorize New Jersey judges to deny bail to dangerous offenders. The change would alter the existing bail framework in the state and adopt a system similar to that used by the federal courts. Under existing New Jersey law, judges are
