CJ Griffin Quoted in the NJ.com article, "N.J. cops can no longer hide serious misconduct from public after Supreme Court ruling"
CJ Griffin, Director of the Justice Gary S. Stein Public Interest Center, was quoted in the NJ.com article, “N.J. cops can no longer hide serious misconduct from public after Supreme Court ruling.” The article discusses the recent New Jersey Supreme Court ruling addressing Law Enforcement Directives 2020-5 and 2020-6, which were issued by Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal in June 2020, ordering the disclosure of the names of law enforcement officers who receive major discipline. In a unanimous decision, the Court found that state authorities can identify officers subjected to “major discipline” going forward, but held that officers who were disciplined prior to 2020 can go to a judge to seek to block public disclosure. CJ Griffin CJ filed an amicus curiae brief and argued on behalf of the National Coalition of Latino Officers and the Law Enforcement Action Partnership in support of these police transparency Directives.
CJ Griffin, a public records attorney who was involved in the case, said that the AG’s directive was a half-measure in terms of police transparency and that Grewal should take the high court’s decision as permission to release a wide swath of police internal affairs records that other states treat as public.
“He’s spoken for the past year about how he wants to be a national leader on this,” Griffin said. “He should amend his policy now. He has the authority. Make internal affairs records public now.”
To view the full article, click here.