Tarus v. Borough of Pine Hill

During our nation’s formative days, Patrick Henry declared that “[t]he liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them.” The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution, As Recommended by the General Convention at Philadelphia in 1787 169-70 (J. Elliot ed., 1881). With that rationale for open government as our backdrop, in this appeal we examine the breadth of the public’s right of access to governmental proceedings under New Jersey law.

At two municipal proceedings in 2000,…