CJ Griffin Quoted in TAPintoWestfield Regarding Release of Police Internal Affairs Reports as a Result of Recent NJ Supreme Court Ruling
CJ Griffin, Director of the Justice Gary S. Stein Public Interest Center at Pashman Stein Walder Hayden, was quoted in TAPintoWestfield article “Union County Settles Attorney Fee Dispute in Landmark Public Records Case.” The article discusses the significance of the landmark ruling through which retired police officer Richard Rivera secured the release of internal affairs reports concerning racists and sexist comments made by former Elizabeth Police Director James Cosgrove. Griffin represented plaintiff Rivera in a nearly three-year-long court battle which resulted in a New Jersey Supreme Court ruling which held that police internal affairs reports should be disclosed under the common law right when interests that favor disclosure outweigh concerns for confidentiality.
“The Rivera case was a huge win for police transparency,” said Rivera’s attorney CJ Griffin, director of the Justice Gary S. Stein Public Interest Center at Pashman Stein Walder Hayden P.C. “As a result, the public now has a path to access police internal affairs records and learn about police misconduct. These records were previously shrouded in complete secrecy, unlike in many states where they are public.”
Although the ruling in the case is recent, Griffin said many agencies have released internal affairs reports in response to her client’s requests.
“After the Rivera decision came out, he filed many requests and about half of the agencies complied and produced the reports,” Griffin said.
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