This document explains the data collection process, variable definitions, analytical methods, and known limitations of the S2930 impact analysis.
Civil court case data is sourced from the New Jersey Judiciary's Automated Case Management System (ACMS). The data export format is PAB0231, a fixed-width mainframe format used by the Judiciary.
Government Records Council decisions are scraped daily from the official GRC website using automated collection scripts.
Cases are classified as OPRA-related using multiple signals:
A composite score is calculated from these signals; cases scoring ≥ 0.5 are classified as OPRA cases.
S2930 became effective September 3, 2024. Cases are classified based on filing date:
Attorney representation is inferred from case title patterns. Titles containing "ESQ" or similar attorney indicators are classified as represented cases. This is an approximation and may undercount represented plaintiffs.
| Variable | Definition |
|---|---|
| filing_rate | Cases filed per day, calculated as total cases / days in period |
| denial_rate | GRC complaints denied / (granted + denied), excluding pending/settled |
| days_to_disposition | Calendar days from filed_date to disposed_date |
| plaintiff_win | Disposition contains "judgment plaintiff", "granted", or "compliance" |
| pro_se | Case title does not contain "ESQ" or attorney indicators |
| settled | Disposition contains "settled", "consent", or "stipulation" |
| compliance_grade | A (0-20% denial), B (21-40%), C (41-60%), D (61-80%), F (81-100%) |
Because pre-S2930 and post-S2930 periods have different lengths (245 vs 120 days), filing counts are normalized to daily rates before comparison. Rate changes are calculated as: (postRate - preRate) / preRate * 100
95% confidence intervals for rate changes assume filing counts follow a Poisson distribution. The standard error is approximated as: sqrt(1/n1 + 1/n2) * 100
Agency complaint trends are calculated by comparing recent (last 2 years) vs historical complaint frequency. Agencies with increasing recent activity are marked "worsening"; those with decreasing activity are marked "improving".
Single-Year Dataset
This analysis is based on 2024 data only. Without multi-year baseline data, we cannot definitively attribute changes to S2930 vs. secular trends or seasonal effects.
Post-S2930 Cases Still Pending
Cases filed after September 3, 2024 have had less time to reach disposition. Outcome comparisons will become more reliable as these cases resolve.
Attorney Detection Approximation
Attorney representation is inferred from case titles. This method may miss attorneys whose names don't include "ESQ" or other indicators.
OPRA Classification Is Probabilistic
Not all OPRA cases have explicit type codes. Some cases may be misclassified due to missing or ambiguous title information.
Confounding Variables
Other factors (economic conditions, court staffing, COVID aftermath) may influence filing patterns independently of S2930.
The analysis code and data are available for replication:
Key fields in the export files:
docket_number - Unique case identifier (L-XXXXXX-YY format)filed_date - Date case was filed (YYYY-MM-DD)disposed_date - Date case was disposed (null if pending)disposition_type - How case was resolvedvenue_code - 3-letter county codeplaintiff_name - Party filing the lawsuitdefendant_name - Government agency being suedperiod - pre_s2930 or post_s2930If you use this data or analysis in your research, please cite:
New Jersey Foundation for Open Government. (2024). "Impact of S2930 on OPRA Litigation: Quantitative Analysis of 2024 Filing Data." NJFOG Court Data Project. https://data.njfog.org/opra-2024/methodology
License: Data is provided under Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0. You are free to share and adapt the data for any purpose, provided you give appropriate credit.
For questions about methodology, data access, or collaboration opportunities, contact the New Jersey Foundation for Open Government.
Contact NJFOG