CJ Griffin Discusses OPRA with Asbury Park Press, “Meet the NJ Agency Where Public Records Complaints Go to Die”

CJ Griffin, partner and director of the Justice Gary S. Stein Public Interest Center at Pashman Stein Walder Hayden P.C., was recently quoted in an Asbury Park Press article titled, “Meet the NJ Agency Where Public Records Complaints Go to Die.” The article discusses how the New Jersey Government Records Council is overwhelmed by a massive backlog of public records complaints, leaving many cases unresolved for years due to staffing shortages, vacancies, and procedural delays. Recent changes to the state’s public records law have made it harder and more expensive to challenge denials in court, pushing more people into a slow system that critics say undermines transparency.

“All the members are lawyers. So, if any of them have a conflict -- because they represent the agency or for some other reason – it means they can’t decide that individual case,” said C.J. Griffin, an attorney who frequently represents media organizations and members of the public in legal cases involving records requests.

“The first time I filed (a complaint with the Government Records Council), I immediately realized it was not a forum in which you can really get a quick outcome or a good outcome,” Griffin said. “If you file a records request, it’s probably not because you want something in a year or two or three or four. You want the records in seven business days – maybe sooner.”

“I always told people never go to the GRC, but I could say that because a lawyer would … get the legal fees from the agency,” Griffin said. “Now, it’s much harder to say that.”

To read the full article in the Asbury Park Press, click here.