NJ Supreme Court changes its mind on court case involving Cherry Hill, Deptford

TRENTON — The state Supreme Court has reversed its decision to consider a lawsuit filed against three townships by a Cherry Hill-based activist group.

The high court had decided at its July 6 conference to hear an appeal from Rise Against Hate, which sued to obtain subscriber lists for municipal newsletters in Cherry Hill, Deptford and Bridgewater, Somerset County.

But the court changed course at a July 23 conference.

In a brief announcement, it said an order accepting the case "is vacated and the appeal is dismissed."

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It said the initial decision to grant certiorari — or agree to hear the case — was "improvidently granted."

It offered no explanation for the change.

The decision leaves standing an appellate court ruling in favor of the towns, which refused to release subscribers' email address in response to the nonprofit's public records request.

The high court's action is "a victory for residents across the state," said Cherry Hill Mayor Dave Fleisher.

“This ensures that residents have access to information and notifications from their local governments without the risk of their personal information being shared with third parties," he said.

Benjamin Shore, executive director of Rise Against Hate, expressed disappointment.

"While we respect the court's authority, this decision is a setback for transparency and accountability in our state," he said.

He noted the court's reversal followed enactment of a state law revising rules for access to public records.

The new law "will effectively gut access to public records, leading to less transparency and accountability from the government," Shore said.

Rise Against Hate requested the subscriber lists in December 2020, saying it wanted to send unsolicited emails to the addresses in an effort to promote its activities.

Records custodians in the three townships rejected the requests, saying subscribers’ “objectively reasonable expectation” of privacy outweighed the group’s right to obtain the addresses.

Rise Against Hate won the first round of lawsuits against each custodian, with state judges in each case ordering disclosure of the addresses.

An appeals court overturned those rulings in March.

The three-judge panel acknowledged the OPRA law did not expressly prohibit disclosure of the email addresses, and said the harm from releasing the addresses “is likely minimal.”

But it said the custodians had made justifiable claims that disclosure of the address “would invade (subscribers’) reasonable expectations of privacy.”

Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email: Jwalsh@cpsj.com.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: NJ Supreme Court changes its mind on court case involving Cherry Hill, Deptford