This recent Jersey Journal article discusses Jersey City’s denial of the Journal’s request for copies of Mayor Fulop’s private meetings calendar. Although the article suggests there is no legal justification for this denial, New Jersey case law directly states that the appointment calendars of public officials are exempt from disclosure under OPRA.

In a published 2005 opinion, Gannett New Jersey Partners v. County of Middlesex, the Appellate Division upheld the County’s denial of an OPRA request for County Counsel’s appointment book. The court stated that a Supreme Court opinion barring the public release of telephone numbers called by an official applies as well to the meeting information contained in an official’s appointment book.

As a result, New Jersey law is clear: OPRA does not permit the disclosure of public officials’ private calendars.