The Supreme Court heard argument a few days ago in IMO NJ State Fireman’s Assn Obligation to Provide Relief Applications. I have a few comments, based on my observation of the argument.

-It wasn’t clear how a majority of the justices felt about the question of whether public bodies may file OPRA declaratory judgment suits. In any event, as I’ve said before, I think the answer to this question is likely to have little impact on future OPRA cases.

-The justices were sympathetic to the privacy concerns raised by the requestor’s demand for records showing whether an applicant had received financial assistance. The justices all seemed to agree that the records in question are similar to those showing a person’s receipt of welfare assistance, which are strictly confidential. I think the Court may very well reverse the Appellate Division and hold that OPRA’s privacy exemption precludes release of the fireman’s relief records.

-The justices spent a lot of time discussing what procedure a custodian should follow when a third party has a privacy interest in the requested record, such as, is the custodian required to notify that party of the OPRA request? It looks like the Court may issue much needed guidance on how to handle this problem.