Association for Governmental Responsibility, Ethics & Transparency v. Borough of Mantoloking

Amicus brief arguing that the author’s identity of a document that was produced must be disclosed under OPRA.

This case raises the question of whether either New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act (OPRA) or the common law right of access requires public access to part of an email that redacted the author’s identity, when the substance of the email itself, which was legal advice instructing an acting municipal prosecutor how to deal with an issue in the case, was intentionally disclosed by the acting municipal prosecutor to opposing counsel. The amicus brief, drafted in partnership with Pashman Stein, argues that disclosure is necessary because any work product privilege was voluntarily waived when counsel disclosed the contents of the email and because the public has the right to know about any potential conflict of interest between the author and the case.