CJ Griffin Quoted in nj.com Regarding Pro Bono Representation of Resident Sued by Irvington Regarding OPRA Requests
CJ Griffin, Director of the Justice Gary S. Stein Public Interest Center at Pashman Stein Walder Hayden, was quoted in the nj.com article, “Attorney to represent woman, 82, for free after she is sued for ‘burdensome’ public records requests.” The article discusses the case of an 82-year old Irvington resident who was sued by the township for filing OPRA requests with the township. The article discusses how Griffin, together with the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, will be providing pro bono legal representation to defend her in the township’s lawsuit.
McDaniel told NJ Advance Media on Wednesday afternoon that she plans to fight the lawsuit with help from CJ Griffin, a Hackensack attorney who focuses on public records access, as well as the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey. Both Griffin and the ACLU will provide assistance pro-bono, she said.
Griffin was not immediately available for comment.
In an interview Monday, Griffin called the lawsuit “especially ludicrous” over claims it’s been burdensome for the town to respond to McDaniel’s 75 OPRA requests in three years.
“It would be a dangerous precedent if towns are allowed to start suing people because they file two requests a month, or even if they file ten ... There’s nothing in the statute that authorizes them to do that and it’s retaliatory,” Griffin said.
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