Judge Orders Emails Released in OPRA Case; Poage: “Serial Abusers”

A Superior Court judge ordered Berkeley Heights to release unredacted email logs in connection to the CMS Turf Field/Sports Complex, finding the OPRA denial unreasonable, and ruling that email addresses used for public business are part of the public record under OPRA and the Common Law.

Last night, the Township has a resolution up to authorize payment of attorney’s fees and costs in John Migueis v. Township of Berkeley Heights. During that discussion, Councilmember Susan Poage said she supports transparency but claimed that “excessive record requests by the same individuals… overwhelm our staff,” that “this money comes straight out of taxpayer pockets,” and said she’s uncomfortable with what she called “serial abusers of the OPRA process,” adding, “I feel like this is a frivolous one.”

She did not cite numbers, specific requests, or specific dates. She was careful to avoid explicitly naming who she was characterizing.

We normally provide a fact check within the same body but for this we are going to allow Ms. Poage’s words the full opportunity to sit with the public before doing so.