To: ASK NJ Media Co:

This email timely responds to the below records request, which
specifically describes the records sought as follows:

Entire files, including but not limited to, copies of any and all police
reports, photos, and videos prepared and/or generated regarding the case
of Nakee Davis-Ruffin. Mr Davis-Ruffin's arraignment was before Judge
Oxley on 5-5-2020.

This request is denied on the ground it is overbroad and, therefore,
invalid. 

OPRA [does not] authorize a party to make a blanket request for every
document a public agency has on file.  Rather, a party requesting access
to a public record under OPRA must specifically describe the document
sought.  OPRA operates to make identifiable government records readily
accessible for inspection, copying or examination.  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.  OPRA does not authorize
unbridled searches of an agency’s property.

Bent v. Township of Stafford Police Dep’t, 381 N.J. Super. 30, 37 (App.
Div. 2005) (internal citations, quotations omitted).   See also
Spectraserv, Inc. v. Middlesex Cty Utilities Auth., 416 N.J. Super. 565,
577-78 (App. Div. 2010) (finding OPRA request for “an entire project file”
improper because it failed to identify specific documents).

There will typically be applicable OPRA exemptions when the contents of a
criminal file are requested, the “criminal investigatory records”
exception being the most obvious.  N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1; North Jersey Media
Gp., Inc. v. Township of Lyndhurst, 229 N.J. 541, 569 (2017)
(investigative reports and witness statements about criminal incident
“fall within the “criminal investigatory exception” under OPRA); Serrano
v. South Brunswick Twp., 358 N.J. Super. 352, 356-57, 360, 370 (App. Div.
2003) (affirming dismissal of portion of complaint regarding
non-disclosure of police and EMT reports under OPRA, on the ground such
documents were “criminal investigatory records”).  With reference to your
request, we have not analyzed any particular record in light of the OPRA
exemptions because the request itself – for “entire files” – is invalid. 

Additionally, your request for “files” does not include case identifiers
other than the defendant’s name and date of arraignment.  An OPRA request
must identify with “reasonable clarity” the documents that are desired so
that they may be “readily and reasonably identified within the short time
frame within which government custodians must respond.”  Spectraserv, 416
N.J. Super. at 576.  Providing identifiers that include the date/town of
offense and/or arrest; the nature of the charges; and/or a case or
indictment number would provide the particularity to ensure we are aware
of all of (but no more than) the records that you seek.

Finally, the request also is denied under the common law.  The face of the
request acknowledges that the requested records relate to open charge(s),
i.e., a case or cases at the arraignment stage.  The State’s interest in
maintaining the integrity of its investigation/prosecution at this stage
outweighs the media’s interest in access.  North Jersey Media Gp., 229
N.J. at 580.  Your failure to identify any particular record prevents the
undersigned from performing, with any greater specificity, the “careful,”
“sensitive” balancing analysis required under the common law.   Ibid.

In the event of a clarification or appeal, this Office reserves the right
to raise any other ground for denial not raised in this response.  Failure
of this office to assert an exemption or privilege at this time should not
be considered a waiver of any grounds for denial.

Respectfully,

Mary R. Juliano

Assistant Prosecutor

Monmouth County

-----Original Message-----
From: ASK NJ Media Co.
<[OPRA #11038 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, May 5, 2020 2:52 PM
To: OPRA <[Monmouth County Prosecutor&#39;s Office request email]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL]OPRA request - Nakee Davis-Ruffin

Dear Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office,

This is a request for public records made under OPRA and the common law
right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form. Please
acknowledge receipt of this message.

  Records requested:

Please send your response in PDF form.

Entire files, including but not limited to, copies of any and all police
reports, photos, and videos prepared and/or generated regarding the case
of Nakee Davis-Ruffin. Mr Davis-Ruffin's arraignment was before Judge
Oxley on 5-5-2020

Please include a Record Index with your response.

*A record index that identifies each record requested and the specific
legal basis for a denial of access (including redactions) to each record.

Yours faithfully,

ASK NJ Media Co.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use deliver records electronically via email to the below UNIQUE
address for all replies to this request:

[1][OPRA #11038 email]

Is [2][Monmouth County Prosecutor&#39;s Office request email] the wrong address for OPRA requests to Monmouth
County Prosecutor's Office? If so, please contact us using this form:

[3]https://opramachine.com/change_request/n...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:

[4]https://opramachine.com/help/officers

View this OPRA request & responses online:

[5]https://opramachine.com/request/nakee_da...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an OPRA custodian, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's website.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

NOTICE OF CONFIDENTIALITY This message, including any prior messages and
attachments, may contain advisory, consultative and/or deliberative
material, confidential information or privileged communications of the
Office of the Monmouth County Prosecutor. Access to this message by anyone
other than the sender and the intended recipient(s) is unauthorized. If
you are not the intended recipient of this message, any disclosure,
copying, distribution or action taken or not taken in reliance on it,
without the expressed written consent of the Office of the Monmouth County
Prosecutor, is prohibited. If you have received this message in error, you
should not save, scan, transmit, print, use or disseminate this message or
any information contained in this message in any way and you should
promptly delete or destroy this message and all copies of it. Please
notify the sender by return e-mail if you have received this message in
error.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[OPRA #11038 email]
2. mailto:[Monmouth County Prosecutor&#39;s Office request email]
3. https://opramachine.com/change_request/n...
4. https://opramachine.com/help/officers
5. https://opramachine.com/request/nakee_da...

hide quoted sections

I'm sorry, I not sure I understand your question. Are you asking me to find a file, go through it, identify all of the documents it contains, and then give you the names of those documents so that you know what to ask for?
That is not a valid OPRA request, because it's a request for information rather than for a particularly described record.

I'm not even clear what file your request referred to. My search showed one case with the defendant's name that was arraigned 5/5. But your request said "files." I can't be sure my search returned everything. And you didn't provide any case identifiers. I cannot tell you what you're looking for. And I am not going to research everything we have and tell you about it so you can choose what you want.

If your follow-up email (of 2:56 p.m.) was intended to be a second OPRA request, it is denied.

Respectfully,
Mary Juliano
Assistant Prosecutor
Monmouth County

-----Original Message-----
From: ASK NJ Media Co. <[OPRA #11038 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, May 6, 2020 2:56 PM
To: Mary Juliano <[email address]>
Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL]OPRA request - Nakee Davis-Ruffin

Dear Mary Juliano,

What are the official names of the documents that you have on file regarding this case.

Yours sincerely,

ASK NJ Media Co.

-----Original Message-----

To: ASK NJ Media Co:

This email timely responds to the below records request, which specifically describes the records sought as follows:

Entire files, including but not limited to, copies of any and all police reports, photos, and videos prepared and/or generated regarding the case of Nakee Davis-Ruffin. Mr Davis-Ruffin's arraignment was before Judge Oxley on 5-5-2020.

This request is denied on the ground it is overbroad and, therefore, invalid.

OPRA [does not] authorize a party to make a blanket request for every document a public agency has on file. Rather, a party requesting access to a public record under OPRA must specifically describe the document sought. OPRA operates to make identifiable government records readily accessible for inspection, copying or examination. 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. OPRA does not authorize unbridled searches of an agency’s property.

Bent v. Township of Stafford Police Dep’t, 381 N.J. Super. 30, 37 (App.
Div. 2005) (internal citations, quotations omitted). See also Spectraserv, Inc. v. Middlesex Cty Utilities Auth., 416 N.J. Super. 565,
577-78 (App. Div. 2010) (finding OPRA request for “an entire project file”
improper because it failed to identify specific documents).

There will typically be applicable OPRA exemptions when the contents of a criminal file are requested, the “criminal investigatory records”
exception being the most obvious. N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1; North Jersey Media Gp., Inc. v. Township of Lyndhurst, 229 N.J. 541, 569 (2017) (investigative reports and witness statements about criminal incident “fall within the “criminal investigatory exception” under OPRA); Serrano v. South Brunswick Twp., 358 N.J. Super. 352, 356-57, 360, 370 (App. Div.
2003) (affirming dismissal of portion of complaint regarding non-disclosure of police and EMT reports under OPRA, on the ground such documents were “criminal investigatory records”). With reference to your request, we have not analyzed any particular record in light of the OPRA exemptions because the request itself – for “entire files” – is invalid.

Additionally, your request for “files” does not include case identifiers other than the defendant’s name and date of arraignment. An OPRA request must identify with “reasonable clarity” the documents that are desired so that they may be “readily and reasonably identified within the short time frame within which government custodians must respond.” Spectraserv, 416 N.J. Super. at 576. Providing identifiers that include the date/town of offense and/or arrest; the nature of the charges; and/or a case or indictment number would provide the particularity to ensure we are aware of all of (but no more than) the records that you seek.

Finally, the request also is denied under the common law. The face of the request acknowledges that the requested records relate to open charge(s), i.e., a case or cases at the arraignment stage. The State’s interest in maintaining the integrity of its investigation/prosecution at this stage outweighs the media’s interest in access. North Jersey Media Gp., 229 N.J. at 580. Your failure to identify any particular record prevents the undersigned from performing, with any greater specificity, the “careful,”
“sensitive” balancing analysis required under the common law. Ibid.

In the event of a clarification or appeal, this Office reserves the right to raise any other ground for denial not raised in this response. Failure of this office to assert an exemption or privilege at this time should not be considered a waiver of any grounds for denial.

Respectfully,

Mary R. Juliano

Assistant Prosecutor

Monmouth County

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this UNIQUE email address for all replies to this request and no other:
[OPRA #11038 email]

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://opramachine.com/help/officers

View this OPRA request & responses online:
https://opramachine.com/request/nakee_da...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an OPRA custodian, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's website.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTICE OF CONFIDENTIALITY This message, including any prior messages and attachments, may contain advisory, consultative and/or deliberative material, confidential information or privileged communications of the Office of the Monmouth County Prosecutor. Access to this message by anyone other than the sender and the intended recipient(s) is unauthorized. If you are not the intended recipient of this message, any disclosure, copying, distribution or action taken or not taken in reliance on it, without the expressed written consent of the Office of the Monmouth County Prosecutor, is prohibited. If you have received this message in error, you should not save, scan, transmit, print, use or disseminate this message or any information contained in this message in any way and you should promptly delete or destroy this message and all copies of it. Please notify the sender by return e-mail if you have received this message in error.

hide quoted sections

Responsive records are attached.

-----Original Message-----
From: ASK NJ Media Co. <[OPRA #11038 email]>
Sent: Friday, May 15, 2020 4:18 PM
To: Mary Juliano <[email address]>
Subject: RE: [EXTERNAL]OPRA request - Nakee Davis-Ruffin

Dear Mary Juliano,

Copies of criminal complaints and copy of indictments against Nakee Davis-Ruffin

Yours sincerely,

ASK NJ Media Co.

-----Original Message-----

I'm sorry, I not sure I understand your question. Are you asking me to find a file, go through it, identify all of the documents it contains, and then give you the names of those documents so that you know what to ask for?
That is not a valid OPRA request, because it's a request for information rather than for a particularly described record.

I'm not even clear what file your request referred to. My search showed one case with the defendant's name that was arraigned 5/5. But your request said "files." I can't be sure my search returned everything. And you didn't provide any case identifiers. I cannot tell you what you're looking for. And I am not going to research everything we have and tell you about it so you can choose what you want.

If your follow-up email (of 2:56 p.m.) was intended to be a second OPRA request, it is denied.

Respectfully,
Mary Juliano
Assistant Prosecutor
Monmouth County

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this UNIQUE email address for all replies to this request and no other:
[OPRA #11038 email]

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://opramachine.com/help/officers

View this OPRA request & responses online:
https://opramachine.com/request/nakee_da...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an OPRA custodian, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's website.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTICE OF CONFIDENTIALITY This message, including any prior messages and attachments, may contain advisory, consultative and/or deliberative material, confidential information or privileged communications of the Office of the Monmouth County Prosecutor. Access to this message by anyone other than the sender and the intended recipient(s) is unauthorized. If you are not the intended recipient of this message, any disclosure, copying, distribution or action taken or not taken in reliance on it, without the expressed written consent of the Office of the Monmouth County Prosecutor, is prohibited. If you have received this message in error, you should not save, scan, transmit, print, use or disseminate this message or any information contained in this message in any way and you should promptly delete or destroy this message and all copies of it. Please notify the sender by return e-mail if you have received this message in error.
NOTICE OF CONFIDENTIALITY This message, including any prior messages and attachments, may contain advisory, consultative and/or deliberative material, confidential information or privileged communications of the County of Monmouth. Access to this message by anyone other than the sender and the intended recipient(s) is unauthorized. If you are not the intended recipient of this message, any disclosure, copying, distribution or action taken or not taken in reliance on it, without the expressed written consent of the County, is prohibited. If you have received this message in error, you should not save, scan, transmit, print, use or disseminate this message or any information contained in this message in any way and you should promptly delete or destroy this message and all copies of it. Please notify the sender by return e-mail if you have received this message in error.

hide quoted sections