Prosecution Against Journalists for Refusing to Unpublish Police Reports Dismissed

In a win for First Amendment rights and freedom of the press, the prosecution of Pashman Stein Walder Hayden P.C. clients, Kenny Katzgrau and Brian Donohue, the publisher and editor, respectively, of digital news outlet Red Bank Green, was dismissed and charges against them expunged.  The journalists were represented by Bruce S. Rosen, partner at Pashman Stein Walder Hayden P.C.

Katzgrau and Donohue were accused of violating a state law prohibiting the disclosure of expunged criminal records for refusing to remove mention of an expunged arrest from a police blotter published in September 2024, despite the arrest having been expunged in March 2025.  In accordance with Red Bank Green’s policy, an update was added to the website stating that the individual’s arrest was expunged.

Rosen argued that the prosecution of Donohue and Katzgrau should be dismissed and expunged, citing a New Jersey Supreme Court decision that this type of prosecution violates free speech provisions in the U.S. and State Constitutions.

The court agreed, resulting in the withdrawal and dismissal of the complaint, as well as the expungement of the charges against Katzgrau and Donohue.

The case received extensive media coverage given the significant First Amendment and freedom of the press issues at stake.

Rosen was quoted in media with the following statement, which quote was named the “Quote of the Day” in Politico’s “New Jersey Playbook” for July 28, 2025:

“You can’t edit history; people remember it. If something’s true, you can’t sue for defamation, which requires something to be false. … It’s not false, it happened.”

The full article in the Asbury Park Press can be viewed here.

Pashman Stein Walder Hayden P.C. and Bruce Rosen are proud of the results achieved for clients, some of which are noted here. Of course, each legal matter is unique on many levels, and past successes are not a guarantee of results in any other pending or future matters.