Appeal in Rise Against Hate Case Against Bridgewater Township Dismissed by Courts

BRIDGEWATER, NJ - An appeal from Rise Against Hate regarding a request for access to email addresses of residents who had signed up for township email distribution lists has been dismissed and the case is now concluded.

The Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court ruled in favor of the township, but, in July 2023, the New Jersey Supreme Court granted a certification to hear an appeal from Rise Against Hate.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE FREE TAPINTO.NET NEWSLETTER

In late July, the Supreme Court reversed the certification and dismissed the appeal, stating that it was improvidently granted, according to a release from the township. Because of this, the original Appellate Division ruling stands in the township’s favor, and the case is now concluded.

“This is a victory for residents of Bridgewater and the entire state,” Mayor Matthew Moench said in the release. “I would like to thank all our staff and professionals for working so hard for this result, and I would like to thank all the residents who contacted me with their concerns, which gave myself and the township council the will to pursue this fight. People who wish to sign up for township information can now have their email protected from entities looking to exploit these lists for their own gain.”

In July 2021, Rise Against Hate submitted an OPRA request to the township for its list of resident emails, those who had signed up for the township’s online newsletters, alerts and more. The township denied the request, citing that residents had a reasonable expectation of privacy for the email address information submitted to the township, but, at the time, the court did not agree with the township and said that under the rules of OPRA, there is no privacy interest and the list should be turned over.

The advocacy group had already submitted OPRA requests to a number of towns around New Jersey for the same information, and at least four of those towns had refused to provide their lists as well, with the town of Cherry Hill appealing to the appellate division to overturn the ruling that they turn over their email lists. At that point, the court decision for Bridgewater was stayed while the rest of the appeals worked their way through the court system.

DOWNLOAD THE FREE TAPINTO APP FOR MORE LOCAL NEWS. AVAILABLE IN THE APPLE STORE AND THE GOOGLE PLAY STORE .

Rise Against Hate is a public advocacy group focused on police issues in minority communities following the start of the Black Lives Matter Movement and the murder of George Floyd in 2020.

According to the group’s website, the mission is to raise awareness about racism and civil rights, investigate racial disparities and provide public awareness in law. The website says that, since 2020, they have done research and provided results and information to the public.

In late January 2022, Bridgewater Township also filed an appeal of the court's decision regarding releasing the emails, joining appeals of two other New Jersey municipalities (Cherry Hill and West Deptford) in the same situation. The disclosure of emails was stayed until a decision was made.

In the opinion, Rise Against Hate vs. Bridgewater, Judges Heidi Willis Currier, Patrick DeAlmeida and Catherine Enright, of the appellate court, ruled in March 2023 in favor of Bridgewater Township, and said they did not have to disclose resident email addresses.

Rise Against Hate appealed the decision in summer 2023.

Now the case is complete.

“This is the ruling we have been waiting for,” councilman Filipe Pedroso said in the release. “The Open Public Records Act is a critical tool for government transparency but, in this case, it was clearly being abused. I am gratified that the highest courts in our state agreed.”

Council president Tim Ring agreed.

“The decision by the Supreme Court to uphold the Appellate Division’s ruling affirms our commitment to protecting the privacy of our residents,” he said in the release. “This outcome underscores the importance of safeguarding personal information from misuse and reinforces the trust our community has in its local government.”

Representatives from Rise Against Hate did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

For more local news, visit TAPinto.net