CJ Griffin Featured in Opinion in New Jersey Monitor Praising Griffin’s Efforts in Obtaining Release of Government Records and Fighting for Transparency

CJ Griffin, Director of the Justice Gary S. Stein Public Interest Center at Pashman Stein Walder Hayden, was quoted in an Opinion in the New Jersey Monitor, “In praise of CJ Griffin, who fights to shine a spotlight on N.J. government.” The Opinion notes that In the last two weeks alone, Griffin has been the attorney behind two major public records victories out of the Supreme Court, one that opens up settlement agreements signed by public entities to public viewing, and another that says police internal affairs records should not be private when the public’s interest in them outweighs an officer’s confidentiality concerns.

New Jerseyans have a reason to celebrate this Sunshine Week: We have CJ Griffin.

John Paff, who CJ represented in the case that led to the Supreme Court decision on settlement agreements, called her a “top-notch researcher and litigator” who has a remarkable ability to select cases that move the needle toward greater transparency.

“CJ is successful primarily because, in addition to being a hard worker, she genuinely and passionately cares about open government,” Paff told me. “It’s in her DNA.”

Griffin, a partner at Pashman Stein Walder Hayden and director of the firm’s public interest center, said public records cases “fell on my plate” initially (she joined Pashman Stein in 2012 to handle employment law). But she’s since become a fierce advocate for private citizens and newspapers and their reporters seeking public records in court.

“I became passionate about the importance of transparency,” she told me.

The Opinion concludes:

Until the Legislature decides to modernize OPRA, I’m grateful we have Griffin to help us in our fight.

To view the full article, click here.