CJ Griffin and Iris Bromberg File Lawsuit Challenging Restrictions on Recording Public Meetings

CJ Griffin, partner and director of the Justice Gary S. Stein Public Interest Center at Pashman Stein Walder Hayden P.C., and Iris Bromberg, Senior Public Interest Counsel, recently filed a lawsuit on behalf of Lindenwold resident Alfonso Penna challenging a municipal policy that restricts members of the public from recording borough council meetings. Filed in the Superior Court of New Jersey, the lawsuit alleges that Lindenwold's recording policy and its enforcement violate the New Jersey Constitution, the Open Public Meetings Act, and the public's common-law right to record government meetings. The complaint follows two council meetings at which Penna was ordered to stop recording with his cellphone and, during one meeting, was escorted from the room by police after refusing to do so.

The lawsuit challenges several provisions of the borough's policy, including a one-camera limit for council meetings, an advance-notice requirement for anyone wishing to record, a mandate that residents provide the borough with an original or copy of their unedited recording within 48 hours, and provisions allowing the borough to prohibit future recordings by individuals who violate the policy.

The complaint argues that these restrictions go well beyond what is necessary to prevent disruptions at public meetings and conflict with longstanding New Jersey law recognizing the public's right to document governmental proceedings. It also contends that recording public officials performing their official duties, and sharing those recordings with others, is protected expressive activity under the New Jersey Constitution.

"Taking notes on your own government and sharing them with your neighbors is about as basic to self-government as it gets," Bromberg told The Vindicator. "Courts have said smartphone recording is no more disruptive than pen-and-paper documentation."

Bromberg noted that video recordings can capture things written notes cannot, including officials’ facial expressions, tone of voice, and conduct during a public meeting.

“That’s exactly why accountability and transparency depend on more than one person being allowed to keep that record and share it with their community,” she said. “Despite these basic civic principles, municipalities across New Jersey are still deciding, meeting by meeting, who gets to document them and who doesn’t — punishing the very civic engagement a healthy democracy depends on.”

To read the full article “Lindenwold Resident Sues Borough Over Right to Record Public Meetings” in The Jersey Vindicator, click here.