Participated in an amicus brief (with the Reporters Committee and other amici) filed with the New Jersey Supreme Court in Libertarians for Transparent Government v. New Jersey State Police, a case involving New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”). The libertarian group had filed an OPRA request with the New Jersey State Police for the name, title, and “date of separation and reason therefor” for a state trooper who had been terminated. The State Police denied the request. Both the trial and appellate courts upheld the agency’s denial in disregard of OPRA’s explicit statutory language. The amicus brief focuses on the plain language of the statute and the need for the news media to have access to public records to report on matters of significant public concern. [2019]
