Ms. Manna,

This correspondence shall serve as Nutley Township (the "Township")'s
response to your request for access to government records pursuant to the
Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1, et seq. ("OPRA"), which was
received by the Township on October 22, 2024 during regular office hours.
Attached is a copy of your request for records, and below is the
Township's response to the same:

"I am writing to request access to and copies of records under the Freedom
of Information Act. Specifically, I am seeking information related to:
Arrest Date 11/2/2023 Incident Number: 23-80023 Please provide the
following documents: Arrest report, Incident report, Mugshot". Pursuant to
N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1, all government records shall be subject to public access
"unless exempt from such access by . . . any other statute". The
Prevention of Domestic Violence Act requires that "[a]ll records
maintained pursuant to this act shall be confidential and shall not be
made available to any individual or institution except as otherwise
provided by law".  N.J.S.A. 2C:25-33.  Our courts have held that the Act's
confidentiality requirements trump the public's right of access to
government records.  See N.J.S.A. 47:1A-9; Brennan v. Bergen Cty.
Prosecutor's Office, 233 N.J. 330 (2018). The requested records were
generated as the result of an incident of domestic violence and,
therefore, are exempt from production as domestic violence records.
Accordingly, your request is denied.

To the extent that you have also requested access to the above government
records under the common law, your stated interest in obtaining the
records must be balanced against the Township of Nutley's interest in
nondisclosure. See Loigman v. Kimmelman, 102 N.J. 98 (1986). The foregoing
response to your request for access to government records incorporates the
aforementioned balancing test. Please note that "a party's status as a
litigant does not enlarge its access to government records under OPRA".
MAG Entm't, LLC v. Div. of Alcoholic Beverage Control, 375 N.J. Super.
534, 545-46 (App. Div. 2005). The Township reserves its right to deny any
request for records that are the subject of any discovery, subpoena or
court order pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5. Moreover, the Township may
restrict access to records sought for a commercial purpose. Id. The
Township reserves the right to raise any other grounds for denial not
raised in this response. Failure of the Township to assert an exemption or
privilege does not act as a waiver of any grounds for denial. Furthermore,
a reviewing Court or the Government Records Council ("GRC") may deem a
denial of access to be authorized on grounds other that those advanced by
a custodian. See Paff v. Twp. of Plainsboro, A-2122- 05T2, 2007 WL 957289,
at *2 (App. Div., Apr. 2, 2007), affirming, Paff v. Township of
Plainsboro, GRC Complaint No. 2005-29 (March 2006). If your request for
access to a government record has been denied or unfilled, you have a
right to challenge the decision by the Township to deny access. At your
option, you may either initiate a proceeding in the Superior Court of New
Jersey or file a complaint with the GRC by completing the Denial of Access
Complaint Form. You may contact the GRC by toll-free telephone at
866-850-0511, by mail at P.O. Box 819, Trenton, NJ, 08625, by e-mail at
[1][email address], or on its website at [2]//www.state.nj.us/grc. The
GRC can also answer other questions about the law. All questions regarding
complaints filed in Superior Court should be directed to the Court Clerk
in your County.

Sincerely,

Lucy Jacobs

Staff Clerk

Department of Revenue and Finance
Township of Nutley, NJ
Office: 973-284-4951 x2222
1 Kennedy Drive
Nutley, New Jersey 07110
[3]www.nutleynj.org

References

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