CJ Griffin Quoted in TAPInto Newark Article

CJ Griffin, partner and director of the Justice Gary S. Stein Public Interest Center at Pashman Stein Walder Hayden P.C., was quoted and mentioned in an article by TAPInto Newark titled, “Attorneys Argue TAPInto Newark vs. Schols Public Records Suit in Court.” The article discusses how after repeated requests under New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act, the Newark Board of Education earlier this year provided a heavily redacted form of the settlement contract which allowed Newark’s BOE to reacquire two school buildings. CJ Griffin, who is representing TAPInto Newark, argued the case in front of Superior Court Judge Mayra V. Tarantino, who asked probing questions on Wednesday, August 9.

“This is a settlement agreement. The Supreme Court has held that settlement agreements are subject to OPRA, and it’s also a contract. Contracts are subject to OPRA. The Supreme Court has held that contracts are subject to OPRA,” argued Griffin.

“They were using this settlement agreement to essentially approve a settlement that was never publicly approved as is required, the terms of which the public should already have access to under the Open Public Meetings Act. There is an approval of a whole new redevelopment contract, which appears to have … had no public bidding whatsoever but should have gone through public bidding,” Griffin said.

To read the full article, click here.