About This Project
A project of the New Jersey Foundation for Open Government (NJFOG) to make court data accessible and promote transparency in government records.
The New Jersey Foundation for Open Government (NJFOG) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization and the only nonprofit in New Jersey dedicated exclusively to open records and open meetings. We believe that access to public records and government information is essential to democracy.
This court data project makes New Jersey civil court records searchable and accessible in ways the official NJ Courts system does not provide. Our database tracks both court cases and Government Records Council (GRC) complaints, revealing patterns in how public agencies respond to records requests through both administrative and judicial processes.
Data source: Entity names are normalized from court records and GRC complaints. Source data may be truncated or contain inconsistent formatting.
62,700+ civil court cases, 6,900+ GRC complaints, and 84,900+ entities searchable by name, county, case type, and more.
Identify and track cases involving the Open Public Records Act, helping researchers understand OPRA litigation trends.
View litigation history for government agencies, showing which entities are most frequently sued over records access.
Track 6,900+ GRC complaints filed against public agencies, with detailed outcome statistics and entity analysis.
In 2024, the New Jersey Legislature passed significant amendments to the Open Public Records Act that change how records requests are handled and how disputes are resolved. Key changes include:
This database helps track how these amendments affect litigation patterns and government compliance.
View OPRA 2024 AnalysisIndependent State Agency
The Government Records Council (GRC) is an independent state agency that adjudicates disputes arising under OPRA. When someone believes a government agency has improperly denied access to public records, they can file a Denial of Access Complaint with the GRC.
The GRC process is free and provides an alternative to filing a lawsuit inSuperior Court. GRC decisions establish precedent for how OPRA should be interpreted and applied.
Our database tracks GRC complaints separately from court cases, as these are distinct legal processes. GRC decisions can be appealed to the Appellate Divisionof the Superior Court within 45 days.
NJFOG is New Jersey's only nonprofit dedicated exclusively to open records and open meetings. For questions about this data, methodology, or to report issues, please contact us.
Visit njfog.org