NEW JERSEY OPEN PUBLIC RECORDS ACT REQUEST

Executive Clemency – Public Safety, Transparency, and Accountability

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Dear Office of the Governor,

Please accept this electronic request for public records pursuant to the New Jersey Open Public Records Act (OPRA), N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq., and the common-law right of access.

Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-6(f), an email request containing the required information constitutes a valid OPRA request. I am not required to submit an agency-specific form or use a particular software platform.

I make the following representations for clarity:
• This request is made for public-interest and informational purposes only.
• I will not use the requested records for any commercial purpose.
• This request is not submitted to interfere with any pending legal proceeding.

STATEMENT OF PUBLIC INTEREST

This request is submitted on behalf of New Jersey residents seeking transparency and accountability in the exercise of executive clemency — one of the most consequential powers vested in state government.

Recent gubernatorial clemency actions have included individuals convicted of serious and violent offenses, and have been issued at a scale unprecedented in modern New Jersey history. Clemency decisions directly affect:
• public safety and community peace,
• victims and their families,
• the integrity of sentencing and prosecutorial reliance, and
• public trust in government decision-making.

Residents are entitled to understand who was granted clemency, for what crimes, on what basis, and with what safeguards, particularly where government action carries real-world risk. Transparency is not hostility to reform — it is a prerequisite for lawful, legitimate governance.

RECORDS CUSTODIAN

Office of the Governor of the State of New Jersey
Attn: OPRA Custodian
State House
P.O. Box 001
Trenton, NJ 08625

SCOPE OF REQUEST

This request seeks all government records created, received, relied upon, or maintained by the Office of the Governor relating to gubernatorial clemency grants (pardons, commutations, conditional relief), including but not limited to those issued since June 2024, following the creation of the Clemency Advisory Board, and including the most recent publicly announced clemency rounds.

If responsive records are physically maintained by another agency but were relied upon by the Governor in exercising clemency authority, such records remain subject to disclosure by the Governor’s Office.

RECORDS REQUESTED

I. IDENTIFICATION OF ALL CLEMENCY RECIPIENTS

For each individual granted clemency:
1. Full legal name
2. Date of clemency grant
3. Type of clemency granted (pardon, commutation, conditional relief, etc.)
4. Whether relief was unconditional or subject to terms

II. CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS AND SENTENCING RECORDS RELIED UPON

For each clemency recipient, to the extent such records were reviewed, relied upon, or maintained:
1. Judgments of Conviction and docket numbers
2. Statutory offenses of conviction, including:
• offense titles
• statute citations
• degree of offense
3. Sentence imposed, including:
• custodial term
• parole ineligibility
• probation or supervision
4. Total time served, including:
• prison confinement
• jail credits
• parole or community supervision
5. Criminal history summaries, RAP sheets, or equivalent compilations reviewed during the clemency process
(personal identifiers such as SSNs and full dates of birth may be redacted; offense and disposition data may not)

III. INSTITUTIONAL & DISCIPLINARY RECORDS CONSIDERED

For each clemency recipient, to the extent reviewed or maintained:
1. Department of Corrections records reflecting:
• in-custody disciplinary charges
• findings and sanctions
• classification history
• institutional behavior evaluations
2. Any risk-assessment instruments, custody-level evaluations, or internal safety assessments considered in connection with clemency review

IV. BASIS, REASONS, AND JUSTIFICATION FOR CLEMENCY

For each clemency decision:
1. Written reasons, findings, summaries, or memoranda explaining why clemency was granted
2. Clemency Advisory Board recommendations or reports
3. Risk-assessment evaluations or public-safety analyses relied upon
4. Rehabilitation, mitigation, or humanitarian factors cited
5. Any objections, concerns, or dissenting views raised by:
• prosecutors
• the Attorney General
• the Department of Corrections
• victim-notification or advocacy entities

If no written justification exists for any clemency grant, please produce records confirming that no such documentation was created or maintained.

V. CLEMENCY ADVISORY BOARD RECORDS
1. Membership lists, qualifications, and appointment authority
2. Policies, criteria, scoring rubrics, or guidance documents used to evaluate applicants
3. Meeting agendas, minutes, attendance records, and votes
4. Communications between the Advisory Board and the Governor regarding specific clemency cases

VI. POST-CLEMENCY PUBLIC-SAFETY & COMPLIANCE TRACKING

To the extent such records are maintained:
1. Records reflecting whether clemency recipients:
• were rearrested
• reoffended
• violated conditions of release
2. Aggregate or anonymized analyses concerning:
• recidivism
• compliance outcomes

If no post-clemency tracking exists, please provide records confirming that fact.

FORMAT, REDACTION & EXEMPTIONS
• I request records in native electronic format where available (PDF, CSV, XLSX).
• Please redact only information strictly exempt under OPRA.
• Do not withhold entire records where partial disclosure is possible.
• For any denial or redaction, please provide a written exemption index identifying:
• the record withheld
• the statutory exemption relied upon
• the basis for nondisclosure

FEES

This request is made in the public interest.
• Please advise in advance of any fees.
• I request a fee waiver or reduction.
• I do not consent to fees exceeding $25 without prior written approval.

RESPONSE & DELIVERY

OPRA requires a response within seven (7) business days.

My preferred delivery method is email with NATIVE FORMAT attachments.
Please confirm receipt of this request.

If you are not the proper custodian for any portion of these records, please forward this request to the appropriate custodian and provide their contact information.

Faithfully,
/s/ Devon Tyler Barber

OPRA FOLLOW-UP, OBJECTION, AND DEMAND FOR CERTIFIED COMPLIANCE

Via OPRAMACHINE.COM
Office of the Governor
Attn: Lisa M. Scorsolini
Custodian of Government Records
P.O. Box 001
Trenton, New Jersey 08625

Re: OPRA Follow-Up; Objection to Closure; Narrowed Request; Demand for Certification
Original OPRA Request: December 18, 2025
Response Letter: December 30, 2025

Dear Ms. Scorsolini:

I write in response to the Office of the Governor’s December 30, 2025 correspondence asserting that my Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”) request is “complete and closed.” That position is respectfully rejected.

This letter serves to:
1. Formally object to the overbreadth determination and categorical denials asserted in the response;
2. Narrow and restate the OPRA request consistent with OPRA, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq., and controlling case law;
3. Invoke the public-interest purpose of OPRA as it relates to statewide criminal-justice policy; and
4. Demand certified compliance, including sworn confirmation of non-existence where records are claimed not to exist.

All rights under OPRA and the common law right of access are expressly preserved.

I. Public Interest and Interest of Justice

This request concerns the exercise of the State’s most extraordinary criminal-justice authority: executive clemency. Decisions to pardon, commute, or otherwise release individuals convicted of criminal offenses directly affect public safety, equal application of the law, and public confidence in the administration of justice for all residents of New Jersey.

OPRA’s purpose clause mandates transparency to “ensure an informed citizenry and to minimize the evils inherent in a secluded process.” N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1. Where the Executive Branch publicly announces clemency grants, the public has a legitimate and compelling interest—at least at a structural, procedural, and aggregate level—in understanding:
• whether written standards or criteria govern those decisions,
• whether any public-safety assessments are performed, and
• whether any outcome tracking exists.

This request does not seek individual deliberations, personal identifiers, or confidential advice. It seeks only the minimum transparency necessary for the public to evaluate whether clemency authority is exercised consistently, rationally, and in alignment with public safety and equal justice under law.

II. Objection to Overbreadth Determination

The December 30 response characterizes the original request as “overbroad” while simultaneously acknowledging that responsive records exist, were reviewed, or were relied upon.

OPRA does not permit denial merely because a request is comprehensive, where the request is record-specific, time-bounded, and reasonably identifiable. See Gannett N.J. Partners, LP v. Cnty. of Middlesex, MAG Entm’t, LLC v. ABC, Bent v. Stafford Twp. Police Dep’t.

Accordingly, and without waiving any rights, I narrow and restate the request below.

III. Narrowed and Clarified OPRA Request

(Superseding and Clarifying Prior Request)

This request seeks existing, non-deliberative records created, received, reviewed, or maintained by the Office of the Governor between January 1, 2024 and December 31, 2025, relating to executive clemency grants publicly announced in the press releases cited in your December 30 response.

A. Records Confirming Existence or Non-Existence of Written Clemency Justifications

For each clemency grant announced during the above period:
1. Records sufficient to show whether any written statement, memorandum, summary, recommendation, or report explaining or justifying the grant of clemency was created or maintained, regardless of whether the substance is later asserted to be confidential; or
2. If no such records exist, a written certification from the Custodian of Records affirming non-existence, made pursuant to OPRA and applicable law.

This request seeks existence/non-existence only, not deliberative content.

B. Clemency Advisory Board – Structural and Policy Records (Non-Case-Specific)
1. Any policies, criteria, guidelines, scoring rubrics, manuals, or written procedures governing how clemency applications are evaluated by the Clemency Advisory Board;
2. Any documents describing the role, authority, workflow, or voting procedures of the Advisory Board, excluding case-specific deliberations.

These are governance records, not confidential advisory opinions.

C. Aggregate or Anonymized Public-Safety Tracking (If Maintained)
1. Any aggregate, anonymized, or statistical reports maintained by the Office of the Governor concerning post-clemency outcomes, including compliance monitoring or recidivism summaries;
2. If no such records exist, a certification of non-existence confirming that no aggregate or outcome-tracking records are maintained by the Office.

This request explicitly excludes identifying information.

IV. Improper Reliance on Executive Order 362 for Blanket Withholding

Executive Order 362 may designate confidentiality for certain deliberative or advisory materials. It does not authorize:
• blanket refusal to confirm the existence of records;
• withholding of structural, procedural, or policy documents; or
• nondisclosure of segregable, non-exempt, or aggregate materials.

OPRA requires custodians to identify applicable exemptions with specificity and to disclose all reasonably segregable non-exempt material. N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(g); Spectraserv, Inc. v. Middlesex Cty. Utils. Auth.

V. Demand for Re-Opening and Certified Compliance

Accordingly, I formally request that the Office of the Governor:
1. Re-open the OPRA request as narrowed herein;
2. Produce all responsive, non-exempt records;
3. For any continued withholding, identify specific OPRA exemptions on a record-by-record basis; and
4. Where records do not exist, provide a written certification of non-existence executed by the Custodian of Records.

If the Office maintains that no further disclosure is required, please treat this letter as a request for a final agency determination, so that I may seek review before the Government Records Council or the Superior Court of New Jersey as provided by law.

VI. Requester Certification

I certify that this OPRA request is made in good faith, for lawful purposes, and in furtherance of the public’s statutory right of access to government records concerning matters of significant public interest.

This request is not intended to harass, burden, or disrupt government operations, but to obtain transparency regarding the structure and oversight of executive clemency decisions that affect all New Jersey residents.

Respectfully submitted,

/s/ Devon Tyler Barber
[email address]
X (Devon Tyler of the Barber-Materio Family)