May 20, 2010

Newark — ACLU-NJ Open Governance Attorney Bobby Conner, who has spearheaded the organization's Open Governance Project since its launch last year, will receive the 2010 Professional Achievement Award of the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) Young Lawyers Division in recognition of his contributions to the state's legal landscape.

"In just four years out of law school, Conner has not only become a leading advocate in the field of open government, but has also shined professionally as a creative colleague who holds himself to the highest standards," said ACLU-NJ Deputy Legal Director Jeanne LoCicero, who nominated Conner for the award. "Whether he's shedding light on public contracts in a town of 500 or helping rewrite laws that affect the entire state, the passion behind his work is just as strong. He's driven by the knowledge that every piece of his advocacy adds up to greater accountability."

Conner's award, to be presented at the New Jersey State Bar Association's annual meeting in Atlantic City today, each year recognizes a young lawyer in the state who has demonstrated excellence in a particular area of law, argued for a significant verdict, or won a game-changing decision, among other distinctions.

Conner has established the Open Governance Project as a powerhouse for transparency, ensuring that government agencies uphold and enforce the Open Public Records Act and Open Public Meetings Act (the "Sunshine Law") throughout New Jersey. He regularly helps members of the public seeking access to their government and teaches public officials how to better comply with New Jersey's open governance laws. He has worked closely with Senator Loretta Weinberg to draft amendments she has introduced to update both the Sunshine Law and the Open Public Records Act.

Conner's contributions to the growing body of public records decisional law are evident. Conner successfully argued that police use-of-force reports are not exempt from public access, persuaded the Union County freeholders to publicly apologize to a resident they had silenced because they disagreed with his comments, and ensured that emergency medical service invoices hidden by the Hackensack government saw the light of day. In addition, Conner's friend-of-the-court brief in Burnett v. Gloucester, decided just last week, helped ensure that public documents maintained by a third party cannot be shielded from the public. The Appellate Division adopted the ACLU-NJ's position, also ruling that towns are prohibited from treating requests for a range of identifiable documents as impermissible fishing expeditions based solely on their breadth.

"In a state with more than 1,800 government entities — from cities to school boards to public authorities — New Jersey presents an especially difficult challenge for residents looking for transparency in the democratic process," Conner said. "When we fight for open government in one jurisdiction, we send a message to every official in New Jersey: if you obstruct the public from access to records or meetings, you will hear from the ACLU."

When Conner first came to the ACLU-NJ full time in 2007, he managed the organization's legal intake and quickly became the resident expert on pursuing public documents. In 2009, a generous grant from Rutgers School of Law-Newark allowed the ACLU-NJ to more doggedly pursue open government, and, as a natural fit for the position, Conner stepped into the role of open governance attorney for the new Open Governance Project. He graduated from Rutgers School of Law-Newark in 2006, where he served as a government fellow at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University.

"Dynamic young lawyers like this year's honorees are the future of this profession," said New Jersey State Bar Association President Allen A. Etish.