Often, public agencies deny requests for records relating to misconduct or crime and claim that the records are part of an “investigation in progress” and therefore not subject to OPRA. It is true that OPRA does provide an exemption for ongoing investigations, but it is important to know how this exemption is applied.
First, OPRA specifically states that ongoing investigation does not apply to records that were “open for public inspection, examination, or copying before the investigation commenced.” N.J.S.A. 47:1A-3a. This means that a video recording that recorded a ...
Most public agencies have adopted official OPRA Request Forms that they place on their websites. For frequent requestors, filling out the official form each and every time a request is made can be time consuming so many opt to send their requests in the body of an email to the records custodian. According to New Jersey case law, this is perfectly acceptable. In Renna v. County of Union, 407 N.J. Super. 230 (App. Div. 2009), the Appellate Division held that no public agency may deny an OPRA request simply because the requestor did not use the agency’s official OPRA Request Form. However, a ...
Published by Media & Entertainment and New Jersey Law360
Elected officials and government employees are often overly cooperative with media when the subject matter involves an issue near and dear to their hearts, advances their political talking points, or is otherwise beneficial to them. But, when the media is attempting to uncover scandal, government waste or potential wrongdoing, journalists often find that their requests for interviews and information are denied and that the elected official suddenly has “no comment.”
Many people ask whether the emails sent to or from a public employee or public official are subject to the Open Public Records Act (OPRA). The answer is yes – email correspondence is subject to OPRA if government business is discussed or conducted. That is true even if the public employee or official uses a private email account.
The Government Records Council has held that a valid request for emails requires the following:
- Date range. Note that the range must not be overbroad—requests for months or years of emails may very likely be held to be too broad.
- Subject matter. We recommend ...
