A state judge has ruled that Gov. Chris Christie's administration wrongly denied a Cape May County man who requested all Open Public Record Act requests filed in the wake of the George Washington Bridge scandal, calling its position "unwarranted."
The lawsuit, filed in May in state Superior Court in Mercer County by the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, accused the state of interfering with the efforts of Harry Scheeler, who routinely asks for public records requests made of state agencies to determine if they are complying with the law.
The civil rights group alleged Scheeler in the past received the records but this year was denied when he asked for requests related to the September lane closings at the bridge, a scandal that exploded in January and prompted scores of public records inquiries.
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In a ruling from the bench Monday, state Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson rejected the state's argument that people could improperly mine records requests to gain advantage over competitors or political dirt on opponents.
"I can't see any expectation of privacy, whether you're attorney or not, or a newspaper person who's trying to get a scoop or not," Jacobson said, according to the Associated Press. The judge has not yet issued a written order.
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Jacobson, who gave the state until Aug. 15 to turn over the records and ordered that it pay the ACLU's legal bills, also noted that many of the state's own public record request forms include a notice that the request itself might be a public record.
An attorney for the ACLU, Bruce Rosen, said Jacobson found fault in the state's argument given that, prior to the bridge scandal, it had fulfilled the same type of request.
"It was exactly the right decision," Rosen said. "It suggests that their strong position that there's a blanket prohibition is just wrong."
A spokesman for the state Attorney General's Office, which defended the case on behalf of the governor's office, declined comment on the decision or if it intends to appeal. A spokesman for the governor's office, Kevin Roberts, also declined comment.
The lawsuit claimed Scheeler was denied records from nine state agencies, including Christie's office. Scheeler's request to the governor's office sought a copy of all public record requests submitted in January and all requests to the office concerning the lane closings at the George Washington Bridge.
StarLedger.com
