In a fight to protect the Monmouth County SPCA from efforts by an individual seeking records from the SPCA under New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act (OPRA), Byrnes O’Hern associate, John (“Jack”) Byrnes, obtained a favorable appellate court ruling sustaining the lower court’s decision finding that the Monmouth County SPCA was not subject to OPRA. In a preferential, published opinion, the panel of appellate judges adopted the legal arguments made by the SPCA, rejecting the appellant’s efforts to subject the SPCA to OPRA based upon the activities of its law enforcement officers. Relying upon recent amendments to the statutory scheme, the panel determined that the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office was the proper public body to submit OPRA requests related to the activities of animal control officers.
Here’s a link to the published opinion from the Appellate Court.
