

February 6, 2018
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February 6, 2018
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The New Jersey Open Public Records Act became the state’s sunshine law in 2002, replacing, and significantly improving, a pre-existing right-to-know law. Public records includes any paper, written or printed book, document, drawing, map, plan, photograph, microfilm, data processed or image processed document, information stored or maintained electronically or by sound-recording or in a similar device, or any copy thereof, that has been made, maintained or kept on file.
Anyone but convicted criminals seeking information on victims may request public documents from the state. There is no requirement for a statement of purpose and no restrictions placed on the use of records. The New Jersey Open Public Records Act allows for up to seven days to respond to a records request.
We the People have a Right to Know according to the Supreme Court of the United States [SCOTUS], past Presidents (of both major political parties), Congress, and the United States Department of Justice. As an expression of that Right to Know, we have coordinated valuable information from a number of resources into a single, public-facing, searchable database.
Society wins not only when the guilty are convicted but when criminal trials are fair; our system of the administration of justice suffers when any accused is treated unfairly.
- William O. Douglas, Associate JusticeSupreme Court of the United States