On October 8, 2015, the Township of Howell (Monmouth County) agreed to pay $35,000 to a local man who sued members of the Howell Police Department for allegedly assaulting him. In his suit, Robert J. Oefelein said that on June 26, 2012, Corporal Fred Bauer and Patrolman Phillip Thompson arrived at his home to investigate […]
Posted inNJ Open Government Notes
Court: Citing FERPA, without more, is sufficient to justify sixty-three redactions.
In an October 20, 2015 oral decision, Mercer County Assignment Judge Mary C. Jacobson dismissed an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) case that challenged the legality of the New Jersey Department of Education‘s (DOE) justification of sixty-three separate redactions from two special education settlement agreements with the following blanket explanation: “The records have been redacted […]
Posted inNJ Civil Settlements
Brick MUA secretly pays $250,000 to settle “whistleblower” suit.
On September 7, 2015, the Brick Township (Ocean County) Municipal Utility Authority (MUA) agreed to pay $250,000 to its former Director of Central Services who claimed that he was fired because he reported that a former MUA Chairman used his influence to move the MUA’s bank accounts to a another bank in order to get […]
Posted inNJ Open Government Notes
Appeals court to rule on whether OPRA requests are OPRAable
On June 2, 2014, I submitted an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request to the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) seeking “all OPRA requests submitted to the MVC between May 5, 2014 and May 12, 2014.” The MVC denied my request because disclosure would allegedly give “an advantage to competitors.” With Walter M. Luers […]
Posted inNJ Open Government Notes
Lawsuit seeks names of police officers who shot 14-year-old.
A lawsuit filed today in Mercer County Superior Court seeks the identities and other information regarding officers from the State Police and Mercer Sheriff’s Department who fired fifteen shots at Radazz Hearns, now 15, on August 7, 2015. Seven of the shots struck Hearns, causing him to be hospitalized for a week. Despite public outcry […]