I will be out of the office starting on Monday, June 24, 2024 until
Friday, June 28, 2024.  I will return to work on Monday, July 1, 2024.  If
you need immediate assistance, please contact Amanda Bransky, Deputy City
Clerk at 201-547-5089 or [email address].  Thank you. 

SEAN J. GALLAGHER, RMC, CMR

CITY CLERK / REGISTRAR

280 GROVE STREET, ROOM 118

JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY 07302

201-547-4486

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Dear Pamelina Manna,

Thank you for registering with the Jersey City OPRA Center. Below you will
find your login and password information. Please log in to the [2]Open
Public Records Center to update any contact or password information and to
track the progress of your requests. 

Login: [OPRA #63121 email]
 
Password:  [3]Update Password
 
If you are a first time user and did not submit your request through the
open public records portal but are receiving this e-mail, an account has
been created for you where you can access, track and receive any documents
in response to your request.
 
Thank You,
 
Custodian of Records
Jersey City, NJ
 
 
 
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References

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Dear Pamelina Manna:

Thank you for your interest in open public records of Jersey City OPRA
Center.  This will serve to acknowledge receipt of your Open Public
Records Act (OPRA) request.  Your request was received in this office on
6/26/2024.  Kindly refer to the reference number E002827-062624 when
communicating with our office in this regard.  Your request mentioned:

OPRA request - Arrest reports of incident case #23-218418 Dear Jersey
City, I am writing to request access to and copies of records Freedom
of Information I am seeking information related to an arrest that
occurred on 19-10-2023 associated with the Incident number #23-218418
Please include all relevant documents, reports, and any other
information pertaining to this arrest. If there are any fees for
searching or copying these records, please inform me, However, I would
like to request a waiver of all fees in that the disclosure of the
requested information is in the public interest and will contribute
significantly to the public's understanding of the operations or
activities of the government Respectfully Submitted, Pamelina Manna

Your request will be forwarded to the relevant City department(s) to
locate the information you seek and to determine the volume and any costs
associated with satisfying your request. You will be contacted about the
availability and/or provided with copies of the records in question.
 PLEASE NOTE: The State Public Information Act does not require a
governmental body to create new information, to do legal research, or to
answer questions.

You can track and monitor the progress of your request at the link below
and you'll receive an email when your request has been completed. Again,
thank you for using the Jersey City OPRA Center.

Jersey City, NJ

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

To monitor the progress or update this request please log into
the [1]Jersey City OPRA Center.

References

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--- Please respond above this line ---

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RE: OPEN PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST of June 26, 2024, Reference #
E002827-062624

Pamelina Manna:

The City received a public information request from you on June 26, 2024.
Your request mentioned:

OPRA request - Arrest reports of incident case #23-218418

Dear Jersey City,

I am writing to request access to and copies of records Freedom of
Information I am seeking information related to an arrest that
occurred on 19-10-2023 associated with the Incident number #23-218418

Please include all relevant documents, reports, and any other
information pertaining to this arrest. If there are any fees for
searching or copying these records, please inform me, However, I would
like to request a waiver of all fees in that the disclosure of the
requested information is in the public interest and will contribute
significantly to the public's understanding of the operations or
activities of the government

Respectfully Submitted,
Pamelina Manna

Reference is made to your OPRA request captioned above.

Please note that the City is conducting its search and/or reviewing
located records and two additional weeks are needed for processing your
request.

Thank you for your patience.

Sincerely,

Alexandra Durso

Clerk 1

Office of City Clerk

 
 
 
 
  To monitor the progress or update this request please log into [3]GovQA
the [2]Jersey City OPRA Center. logo

References

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RE: OPEN PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST of June 26, 2024, Reference #
E002827-062624

Dear Pamelina Manna,

The City received a public information request from you on June 26, 2024.
Your request mentioned:

OPRA request - Arrest reports of incident case #23-218418

Dear Jersey City,

I am writing to request access to and copies of records Freedom of
Information I am seeking information related to an arrest that occurred on
19-10-2023 associated with the Incident number #23-218418

Please include all relevant documents, reports, and any other information
pertaining to this arrest. If there are any fees for searching or copying
these records, please inform me, However, I would like to request a waiver
of all fees in that the disclosure of the requested information is in the
public interest and will contribute significantly to the public's
understanding of the operations or activities of the government

Respectfully Submitted,
Pamelina Manna

The City has reviewed its files and has located an arrest report
responsive to your request. Please log in to the Jersey City OPRA Center
at the following link to retrieve that record.  

[2]Open Public Records Act - E002827-062624

Please note that redactions to the above have been made pursuant to
N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 which states, “a public agency has a responsibility and
an obligation to safeguard from public access a citizen’s personal
information with which it has been entrusted when disclosure thereof would
violate the citizen’s reasonable expectation of privacy” and/or N.J.S.A.
47:1A-5(a) which provides that “prior to allowing access to any government
record, the custodian thereof shall redact from that record any
information which discloses the social security number, credit card
number, unlisted telephone number, or driver license number of any person”

The City also found and Investigation Report and a Supplemental
Investigation Report; however, these records requested are criminal
investigatory records that are exempt from disclosure under OPRA. 
Specifically, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1 states that "a government record shall
not include the following information which is deemed to be confidential
for the purposes of P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.) as amended and
supplemented: [...] criminal investigatory records." N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1
defines a criminal investigatory record as "a record which is not required
by law to be made, maintained or kept on file that is held by a law
enforcement agency which pertains to any criminal investigation or related
civil enforcement proceeding.”
 
Finally, the portion of your request seeking "all relevant documents . . .
and any other information pertaining to this arrest" is invalid under OPRA
as it is overly broad pursuant to MAG Entertainment, LLC v. Division of
Alcoholic Beverage Control, 375 N.J. Super. 534 (App. Div. 2005), Bent v.
Stafford Police Department, 381 N.J. Super. 30 (App. Div. 2005) and New
Jersey Builders Association v. New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing,
390  N.J.Super.  166 (App.  Div.  2007).   

The New Jersey Superior Court has held that "[w]hile OPRA provides an
alternative means of access to government documents not otherwise exempted
from its reach, it is not intended as a research tool . . . to force
government officials to identify and siphon useful information. Rather,
OPRA simply operates to make identifiable government records ‘readily
accessible for inspection, copying, or examination.’ N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1."
MAG Entertainment, LLC v. Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, 375 N.J.
Super. 534, 546 (App. Div. 2005). The Court further held that "[u]nder
OPRA, agencies are required to disclose only "identifiable" government
records not otherwise exempt ... In short, OPRA does not countenance
open-ended searches of an agency's files." Id. at 549.  

Furthermore, in Bent v. Stafford Police Department, 381 N.J. Super. 30, 37
(App. Div. 2005), the Superior Court references MAG in that the Court held
that a requestor must specifically describe the document sought because
OPRA operates to make identifiable government records "accessible." "As
such, a proper request under OPRA must identify with reasonable clarity
those documents that are desired, and a party cannot satisfy this
requirement by simply requesting all of an agency's documents." 
Additionally, in New Jersey Builders Association v. New Jersey Council on
Affordable Housing,  390  N.J.Super.  166,  180  (App.  Div.  2007)  the 
court  cited  MAG  by  stating  that “...when a  request  is ‘complex’
because it fails  to specifically identify the documents sought, then that
request is not ‘encompassed’ by OPRA...”

The OPRA Custodian and City employees are only required to search their
files to find the identifiable government records listed in an OPRA
request.  That part of your request fails to seek  specific identifiable 
government  records and thus will not be honored.

The City has now addressed all parts of your request.  Accordingly, it
will now be closed.  
Sincerely,

Jeremy Jacobsen, Esq.
Assistant Corporation Counsel
City of Jersey City - Dept. of Law
 

 
 
 
  To monitor the progress or update this request please log into [4]GovQA
the [3]Jersey City OPRA Center. logo

References

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