Berkeley v. Madlinger

Amicus brief arguing that requests for public records and related correspondence are protected free speech and petitioning activity.

A recent amendment of the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) created a cause of action for agencies to sue people who seek records “with the intent to substantially interrupt the performance of government function[s], -- and the anti-SLAPP provisions of the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act (UPEPA).” Before the effective date of the OPRA amendments, the Township of Berkeley sued its resident, Scott Madlinger, seeking a court order to limit his ability to make records requests. In our brief, the ACLU-NJ explains that the trial court erred when it decided that UPEPA does not apply to OPRA litigation, among other procedural errors.