Supreme Court Reaffirmed the Power of OPRA
These rulings provide the kind of transparency and candor that are necessary for full accountability by the government to its people. That is a breath of fresh air.
March 27, 2022 at 10:00 AM
7 minute read
Two recent decisions of the New Jersey Supreme Court reaffirmed the role of OPRA as an arrow in the public's quiver of remedies to guard against corruption and misconduct. Together they provide the kind of transparency and candor that are necessary for full accountability by the government of the people. In Richard Rivera v. Union County Prosecutor's Office et. als, (decided March 14, 2022), Elizabeth Police Department employees complained to the Union County Prosecutor's Office about sexist and racist language the Elizabeth police director, James Cosgrove, had used on a regular basis during his two decades in office.
Richard Rivera filed a request for the internal affairs records of that investigation, citing OPRA and the common law while acknowledging the potential need for redactions to protect the identities of complainants and witnesses. The prosecutor refused on the grounds that the report was exempt from disclosure under OPRA and that the institutional interests in confidentiality significantly outweighed Rivera's interests in disclosure under the common law.
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