TED M. ROSENBERG v. STATE OF NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY, DIVISION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Annotate this Case
NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE
                APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION

                                     SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY
                                     APPELLATE DIVISION
                                     DOCKET NO. A-6440-08T3

TED M. ROSENBERG,

      Plaintiff-Appellant,

and

GEORGE E. NORCROSS, III; MARK
NEISSER; HENRY CHUDZINSKI; R.
LOUIS GALLAGHER, II; JCA
ASSOCIATES, INC.; PHILADELPHIA
NEWSPAPERS, INC.; NEWARK MORNING
LEDGER COMPANY, publisher of
The Star Ledger; NEW YORK TIMES
COMPANY; RECORD OF BERGEN COUNTY;
BURLINGTON COUNTY TIMES and
COURIER-POST,

      Plaintiffs-Intervenors-Respondents,

v.

STATE OF NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT
OF LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY, DIVISION
OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE and STATE OF
NEW JERSEY,

      Defendant-Respondent.

_______________________________________________________________


          Argued May 3, 2010 - Decided May 26, 2010

          Before Judges Lisa, Baxter and Coburn.

          On appeal from the Superior Court of New
          Jersey, Law Division, Burlington County,
          Docket No. L-147-05.

              Ted M. Rosenberg,          appellant,   argued       the
              cause pro se.

              Lisa   Sarnoff   Gochman,  Deputy  Attorney
              General, argued the cause for respondent
              State of New Jersey (Paula T. Dow, Attorney
              General, attorney; Ms. Gochman, of counsel
              and on the brief).

PER CURIAM

       In Rosenberg v. New Jersey Department of Law and Public

Safety, Division of Criminal Justice, 
396 N.J. Super. 565, 581

(App. Div. 2007) (Rosenberg I), we remanded to the Law Division

with       instructions     that   the   court   should     review       anew    the

documents plaintiff Ted M. Rosenberg had sought from defendant,

New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, Division of

Criminal Justice (DCJ).            We concluded that the judge's August

28, 2006 letter opinion upholding DCJ's refusal to provide the

documents lacked specific factual findings and was so conclusory

as    to    frustrate     appellate   review.    Ibid.      Consequently,         we

directed the judge upon remand to make detailed findings of fact

concerning the contents of the documents, to apply the Loigman

v. Kimmelman, 
102 N.J. 98, 113 (1986), factors, and to provide

specific reasons, on a document-by-document basis, explaining

why    each     document     was   protected,    or   not    protected,         from

disclosure.      Rosenberg I, supra, 
396 N.J. Super. at 581.

       We    agree   with     plaintiff's    contention     that     the    remand

opinion issued on February 25, 2009, and adopted by order of


                                                                           A-6440-08T3
                                         
2 August 11, 2009, falls short of satisfying the instructions we

issued in Rosenberg I.            Consequently, we remand again and direct

the   Law   Division       to    issue    an       opinion      that    satisfies      those

instructions.

                                              I.

      In our opinion in Rosenberg I, we set forth in considerable

detail the events leading up to plaintiff's document request,

made under the common law right to know doctrine, as well as

                                                   Supra, 
396 N.J. Super. at 570-
DCJ's response to that request.

75.     We incorporate that discussion by reference here.                                 For

present     purposes,      it    is     sufficient         to    note    that    in    2000,

plaintiff ran unsuccessfully for the position of Chair of the

Burlington County Democratic Party.                   Id. at 570.         At the time of

the election, plaintiff was Solicitor of the Borough of Palmyra.

Ibid.       After    the    election,         John    J.    Gural,      Jr.,    a   Palmyra

councilman, notified plaintiff that he was being subjected to

considerable        pressure     from    two       colleagues      at    the    Moorestown

engineering       firm    at    which    he    worked      to    refuse    to    reappoint

plaintiff    as     Palmyra     Borough       Solicitor         when    plaintiff's     term

expired.     Ibid.       Gural reported these events to DCJ and provided

DCJ attorneys with secretly made tape recordings that supported

                                         DCJ's      investigation,        which     spanned
his   allegations.         Ibid.

several years, ultimately resulted in the two initial targets of




                                                                                    A-6440-08T3
                                              3

the investigation pleading guilty, but only to tax evasion.                                   Id.

at 571.     The wider criminal investigation into whether highly

placed political operatives in the Burlington County Democratic

Party     had    engaged       in    a     conspiracy          to        deny        plaintiff

reappointment      as   Solicitor        was      ultimately       closed       in   February

2005, id. at 573, amid claims by the United States Attorney that

DCJ had severely bungled the investigation, id. at 575.

      On December 22, 2004, plaintiff served a written request

upon DCJ's Records Custodian under the Open Public Records Act

(OPRA), N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 to -13, for "'[a]ny and all recordings

and   transcripts       of   such   recordings        made     by    [DCJ]       .    .   .    of

conversations      between      .   .     .       Gural   .    .     .    and'"       various

individuals.      Id. at 572 (second alteration added).                          Relying on

N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1, DCJ denied the request on January 4, 2005.

Ibid.

      On January 11, 2005, plaintiff modified his request for the

Gural tapes, seeking access under the common law "right to know"

                         DCJ denied this request on January 18, 2005,
doctrine.       Ibid.

as plaintiff had "failed to show an interest in the records

requested" and because state and federal litigation was pending

regarding the records.         Ibid.

      On January 12, 2005, plaintiff filed, in state court, a

verified complaint in lieu of prerogative writs and order to




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                                              4

show cause for production of the documents he had requested from

DCJ.    Ibid.   Plaintiff requested both the Gural tapes and "[a]ny

and all investigative records, documents, or other information

made or kept by DCJ relating to any criminal investigations

involving the appointment of the Solicitor in Palmyra for the

year 2001."

       On March 4, 2005, the Law Division ordered DCJ to turn over

the Gural tapes to plaintiff.         The judge found that the tapes

were common law public documents; that plaintiff possessed the

requisite interest in the tapes as he was the primary focus of

and reason for making the tapes; and that plaintiff's interest

in the disclosure of the tapes outweighed the State's interest

in non-disclosure because there was no ongoing investigation.

Id. at 573.

       On March 18, 2005, DCJ moved for reconsideration of the

March 4, 2005 order.     DCJ supported its motion by providing the

judge with a Vaughn index1 that listed the participants in each

of the transcripts made from the Gural tapes.      DCJ also provided

the judge with a transcript of each of the taped conversations

for in camera review.    Ibid.




1
  Vaughn v. Rosen, 
484 F.2d 820, 826-28 (D.C. Cir. 1973), cert.
denied, 
415 U.S. 977, 
94 S. Ct. 1564, 
39 L. Ed. 2d 873 (1974).




                                                             A-6440-08T3
                                  5

       In a March 31, 2005 order, the judge granted intervenor

status as plaintiffs to George Norcross III, Mark Neisser, Henry

Chudzinski, R. Louis Gallagher II, and JCA Associates, Inc. for

the purpose of obtaining the Gural tapes and transcripts should

the court ultimately order them to be turned over to plaintiff.

Ibid.     The March 31, 2005 order also denied DCJ's motion for

reconsideration          and   ordered   DCJ   to    "produce    all   of    the

recordings and transcripts to the [p]laintiff . . . and to all

interven[o]rs by 4:00 p.m. on March 31, 2005."

       On May 12, 2005, by leave granted, we reversed the portions

of the March 31, 2005 order that had required release of the

tapes.    We stated:

               The State's claims of need to protect
               innocent   third    parties   and  criminal
               investigative methods and techniques . . .
               are remanded to the trial judge for an in
               camera proceeding limited to those claims.
               The proceeding shall consist of a review of
               the Vaughn indices and transcripts which
               have been provided by the State.

       On September 9, 2005, plaintiff filed the motion that is

the subject of this appeal, seeking to compel DCJ to provide him

with     its    entire    investigatory      file   concerning   the   Palmyra

Solicitor matter.          In response to that motion, DCJ produced an

expanded Vaughn index on December 2, 2005, which listed all

documents alleged to be privileged and confidential.                    Id. at

575.     The judge ordered DCJ to provide copies of the expanded


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                                         6

Vaughn     index     to     plaintiff    and     to       intervenors.         Ibid.        DCJ

simultaneously released to plaintiff copies of files it did not

deem     privileged,        including    correspondence           between           DCJ     and

plaintiff; plea agreements for Neisser, Chudzinski, and William

Vukoder; legal research; and newspapers and internet articles.

Ibid.

       In response to our May 12, 2005 order, on August 28, 2006,

the judge issued a preliminary letter opinion in which he listed

the    types   of     documents     that     were      included      in       the    box     of

                                                                     camera          review.
materials      DCJ    had    provided      to    him      for   in

Included    were     emails,      evidence      vouchers,       newspaper       articles,

notes of interviews and telephone calls, Gural recordings, legal

memoranda, reports from DCJ detectives, reports of interviews

and    personal      impressions,     transcripts         of    previously          released

tape    recordings        made   while   Gural      was    wearing        a    body       wire,

correspondence between counsel, and numerous pages downloaded

                                 Id. at 576.        On September 29, 2006, the
from NJPolitics.com.

judge issued a letter opinion in which he concluded that each of

the items was protected from disclosure by one or more specific

privileges.       The judge reasoned:

                 Every document reviewed contained, in
            whole or in part, personal impressions,
            opinions, or observations of the authors
            and/or police investigative protocols or
            techniques, all of which were so intertwined
            with other factual material as to render


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                                           7

redaction of the former an impossible task
if some semblance of meaning were to remain
for the unredacted portion of the document
or set of documents.

....

     Based upon my in camera review of the
documents, I am convinced that a clear
showing   of   advancement    of   the   public
interest has not been made such as to
warrant disclosure. That conclusion results
from consideration of the factors enumerated
in [Loigman, supra, 
102 N.J. at 113]: (1)
that disclosure of the written material in
this case could easily impede the primary
functions   of   the   DCJ    by   discouraging
witnesses from reporting actual or potential
criminal activities; (2) that such witnesses
could be subject to ridicule and unwarranted
legal actions by those whose names and
activities were reported; (3) that many of
the    documents    contained     self-critical
analyses and recommendations for improved
investigative procedures which, if released,
will be subjected to a chilling effect; (4)
that, as noted, the factual data contained
in the material sought is so intertwined
with personal observations, impressions and
strategies that meaningful redaction is made
virtually impossible; and (5) that the
investigation by the Attorney General's
office was the subject of a report from the
Office of Governmental Integrity that this
court   also   declined    to    disclose   for
basically the same reasons that disclosure
is deemed improper here.

     To release the documents sought by
plaintiff would, in this court's opinion, be
the functional equivalent of allowing the
plaintiff to participate with employees of
the Attorney General's office in the actual
investigation.    Separation of facts from
opinions cannot be accomplished in any
meaningful way.


                                                  A-6440-08T3
                      8

    In our opinion in Rosenberg I, we held that the judge's

September    29,   2006   letter   opinion   was   insufficient   and    we

remanded for "a more detailed articulation of reasons, focusing

on either individual documents or groups of documents designated

by Bates number in the privilege log (Vaughn Index) filed under

seal by the State."       Supra, 
396 N.J. Super. at 569.    We held:

            [T]he   judge   restated,   in    a   conclusory
            fashion, the five Loigman factors he found
            applied,   without    referencing     particular
                                           2
                                                to which a
            documents by Bates numbers
            particular    factor    applied,     or   making
            specific factual findings why the factor
            applied   to   the   contents    of   particular
            documents. We, therefore, remand the matter
            to the trial court with the directions to
            review anew the documents contained in the
            Vaughn index and render a decision making
            specific reference to particular documents
            or group of documents and provide his
            factual findings, if necessary, in the form
            of a separate sealed decision.

            [Id. at 581.]

We essentially held that without these factual findings, we were

unable to determine whether the judge had abused his discretion

                                                                          We
in not releasing the documents plaintiff requested.            Ibid.

therefore remanded for the preparation of a detailed statement

of reasons.    Ibid.

2
  The term "Bates numbers" refers to a numbering system commonly
used for voluminous medical, commercial and legal documents, in
which a sequential number is stamped on each page for ease of
reference.



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                                     9

       In the interim, the judge who issued the September 29, 2006

opinion had retired.           Consequently, the task of preparing the

remand    opinion   was    assigned    to   a   second      judge,   who      filed    a

written opinion on February 25, 2009.                  The February 25, 2009

opinion    began    with   a   list,   in   the      most    general     of    terms,

describing each of the documents he reviewed.3




3
    The list of documents included:

            1. Hand written and typed versions of the
            notes of the Deputy Attorney General Susan
            Kase.

            2. Hand written and typed versions of the
            notes   of Deputy  Attorney  General Tony
            Piccone.

            3. Hand written notes from an unidentified
            Deputy Attorney General or Division of
            Criminal Justice Investigator.

            4. Hand written notes               of    Former     Chief
            Investigator [Redacted].

            5. Internal memoranda from investigators and
            deputy attorneys general to Andrea Rossner,
            Deputy Director of Criminal Justice.

            6. Internal memoranda from investigators and
            deputy   attorneys    general   to   Melanie
            Campbell, Deputy Attorney General/Government
            Integrity Bureau.

            7.   Internal  investigative   reports  from
            Senior Investigator [Redacted], Investigator
            [Redacted], Senior Investigator [Redacted]
            and Senior Investigator [Redacted].

                                                                       (continued)


                                                                              A-6440-08T3
                                       10

(continued)
          8. Internal memoranda from investigators and
          deputy attorneys general to Louise Lester,
          Chief of the Special Prosecutions Unit.

         9. Correspondence:

           A. Letter dated May 8, 2001 to Mike
         Pinsky, Esq[.] from John Musarra, Deputy
         Attorney General.

           B. Letter dated June 12, 2001 to Mike
         Pinsky, Esq. from John Musarra, Deputy
         Attorney General.

           C. Two unsigned letters dated April 2,
         2004 . . . to Kevin Marino, Esq. from Louise
         Lester, Chief of the Special Prosecutions
         Unit.

           D. Letter dated April 8, 2004 to Kevin
         Marino, Esq. from Louise Lester, Chief of
         the Special Prosecutions Unit.

           E. Letter dated June 24, 2004 to Robert
         Agre, Esq. from Susan Kase, Deputy Attorney
         General. Attached to this correspondence is
         an investigative report from Investigator
         [Redacted].

           F. Facsimile dated October 18[,] 2001 to
         Tony Zar[r]illo from Michael Critchley, Esq.
         Attached   to    this   correspondence    are
         references to various taped conversations.

           G. Letter dated November 18, 2003 to
         Thomas Goan Jr. Deputy Attorney General from
         Mike   Pinsky,   Esq.    Attached  to   this
         correspondence is a letter dated June 12,
         2001 from Mike Pinsky Esq. to John Musarra,
         Deputy Attorney General.

           H. Facsimile dated November 18, 2003 to
         John Goan, Deputy Attorney General from Mike
                                                    (continued)


                                                         A-6440-08T3
                              11

    After   listing   the   eleven   items,   the   judge   made   the

following findings of fact and conclusions of law about the

documents in groups one through eight and ten and eleven.           We

quote his findings in their entirety:

              It is this court's opinion that after a
         review of the above mentioned documents, the
         plaintiff has not established that his
         interests in public disclosure outweigh the
         state's      interest      in     maintaining
         confidentiality.    Loigman, supra, 102 N.J.


(continued)
          Pinsky, Esq. Attached is a letter dated
          November 18, 2003 to John Goan, Deputy
          Attorney General from Mike Pinsky, Esq.

           I. Facsimile dated April 21, 2004 from
         Kevin Mari[no], Esq. to Anthony Picione,
         Esq. Deputy Attorney General. Attached is a
         letter dated April 21, 2004 to Louise
         Lester, Esq. Chief, Special Prosecutions
         Unit from Kevin Marino.

           J. Facsimile dated April 13, 2004 to
         Louise Lester, Chief Special Prosecutions
         Bureau from Kevin Marino, Esq. Attached is a
         letter dated April 13, 2004 to Louise
         Lester, Esq., Chief Special Prosecutions
         Bureau from Kevin Marino, Esq.

         10. An unsigned and undated Affidavit of
         Application of Investigator [Redacted] for a
         Communications Data Warrant (CDW).

         11. The remaining documents consist of notes
         taken during a review of various taped
         conversations.   Also   included   is   legal
         research conducted by the individuals who
         were reviewing the taped conversations.




                                                             A-6440-08T3
                                12

            at 112.      The documents or groups of
            documents contained in 1-8 and 10 and 11
            above consist of internal memorand[a] of
            various members of the Division of Criminal
            Justice.    Disclosure of these documents
            would discourage witnesses from reporting
            actual or potential criminal activities,
            reveal     self-critical     analyses     and
            recommendations which would result in a
            chilling effect on future agency activities,
            and most importantly as far as this court is
            concerned, the information sought could not
            be separated from personal observations,
            impressions, and strategies because this
            information is so intertwined so as to make
            redaction virtually impossible.    The court
            therefore finds that disclosure of this
            internal information should not be ordered.

As   to    the    documents      in    group       nine,   which     consisted      of

correspondence, the judge made a separate finding, which we set

forth in its entirety:

                 The    court    also     finds   that   the
            correspondence    should    not    be  disclosed
            because it pertains to individuals other
            than the plaintiff, and it is privileged,
            absent a waiver of the privilege.            The
            information    should     not    be   disclosed.
            N.J.R.E. 504.

     On    August   11,   2009,       because      the   second    judge   had   also

retired,    a    third   judge   issued       an   order   adopting    the    second

judge's February 25, 2009 opinion.                 It is from that opinion and

order that plaintiff now appeals, raising a single argument.                        He

contends that on remand, the trial judge failed to comply with

this court's directive to review anew the documents contained

within the Vaughn index and to make specific factual findings as


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                                         13

to the applicability of the Loigman factors.                           In particular,

plaintiff argues that the February 25, 2009 opinion fails to

comply with this Court's directive in Rosenberg I because, in

his written opinion, the judge made only "general, conclusory

observations"    and    failed       to    "refer    to    specific     documents   by

Bates numbers[,] . . . failed to render an opinion making the

necessary findings of fact[,] . . . [and] failed to explain the

rationale for each document he deemed privileged."

      DCJ argues that the February 2009 opinion satisfied this

Court's instructions in Rosenberg I because it provides far more

detail than the earlier 2006 opinion.                  In particular, according

to DCJ, the 2009 opinion lists the documents reviewed and then

applies the Loigman factors to each document or category listed.

                                           II.

      A citizen requesting disclosure of documents pursuant to

the   common    law    right    to    know       doctrine     must     satisfy   three

requirements:         "(1)     the    records       must   be   common-law       public

documents;     (2)    the    person       seeking    access     must    establish    an

interest in the subject matter of the material; and (3) the

citizen's right to access must be balanced against the State's

interest in preventing disclosure."                 Keddie v. Rutgers, 
148 N.J.
 36, 50 (1997) (internal quotations and citations omitted).                        When

evaluating prong three, the trial court should consider the six




                                                                             A-6440-08T3
                                            14

factors set forth in Loigman, supra, 
102 N.J. at 113.                 These

factors are:

           (1) the extent to which disclosure will
           impede agency functions by discouraging
           citizens from providing information to the
           government; (2) the effect disclosure may
           have upon persons who have given such
           information, and whether they did so in
           reliance that their identities would not be
           disclosed; (3) the extent to which agency
           self-evaluation,   program   improvement,  or
           other decisionmaking will be chilled by
           disclosure; (4) the degree to which the
           information sought includes factual data as
           opposed     to   evaluative     reports    of
           policymakers; (5) whether any findings of
           public misconduct have been insufficiently
           corrected by remedial measures instituted by
           the investigative agency; and (6) whether
           any agency disciplinary or investigatory
           proceedings    have     arisen    that    may
           circumscribe the individual's asserted need
           for the materials.

           [Ibid.]

The   Loigman   factors,   however,    are   not   exhaustive   and   other

criteria may be examined.      Educ. Law Ctr. ex rel. Burke v. N.J.

Dep't of Educ., 
396 N.J. Super. 634, 644 (App. Div. 2007), rev'd

on other grounds, 
198 N.J. 274 (2009).

      In making a decision whether to disclose the documents, the

"trial court must examine each document individually and make

factual findings with regard to why [a plaintiff's] interest in

disclosure is or is not outweighed by [the State's] interest in

non-disclosure."     Keddie, supra, 
148 N.J. at 54.         Further, the




                                                                  A-6440-08T3
                                  15

trial      court        should     "make     specific          determinations          regarding

plaintiff's access to [the records], including an expression of

reasons for the court's rulings.                         The trial court must examine

each    document         individually,           and    explain      as   to    each   document

deemed privileged why it has so ruled."                          Seacoast Builders Corp.

v. Rutgers, 
358 N.J. Super. 524, 542 (App. Div. 2003) (internal

quotations and citations omitted).

       With these principles in mind, we turn to an analysis of

the judge's February 25, 2009 opinion.                            As we have noted, DCJ

urges      us    to     affirm    the    order         because,      in   keeping      with    our

                                             the       judge    made      reference      to    the
decision         in    Rosenberg       I,

specific documents he received.                         We reject DCJ's argument for

several reasons.

       First, as is evident from the judge's opinion, although the

judge      divided       the     documents       into       eleven    groups,     he    made    no

effort      to    analyze        the    documents           individually.        Instead,       he

merely discussed them in the aggregate, commenting that "[t]he

documents or groups of documents contained in 1 [through] 8 and

10   and    11        above    consist      of    internal       memorand[a]      of    various

members of [DCJ]."               Without an individualized discussion of each

document, the February 2009 decision falls far short of the

"document-by-document"                 analysis        we    required      in   Rosenberg       I,

supra, 
396 N.J. Super. at 569.                     DCJ relies on the portion of our




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                                                  16

opinion that permitted the judge on remand to render a decision

"making specific reference to particular documents or group of

documents."                 Id.    at     581    (emphasis          added).         However,     DCJ's

approach         is     not       only    unduly       mechanical,           but   also     takes   the

language of our opinion out of context.

       As        is    evident           from    our       opinion       in     Rosenberg      I,    we

criticized the first judge for issuing an opinion that "referred

generally to all the documents rather than a particular document

by Bates number," id. at 580, and for restating the Loigman

factors      "in        a    conclusory          fashion       .    .   .    without       referencing

particular            documents          by   Bates     numbers         to    which    a   particular

factor      applied,"             id.    at     581    (emphasis         added).       Thus,     DCJ's

argument that the judge discussed the documents in the groups

that we authorized in Rosenberg I elevates form over substance.

We authorized the judge to refer to documents by "groups," but

only        if        the         documents           shared        common         characteristics.

Aggregating dozens of documents into one group, as the judge did

in his February 2009 opinion, does not satisfy our instruction

in Rosenberg I, ibid., that an individualized assessment be made

of each document.

       Second, by referring to documents as "1 [to] 8 and 10 and

11,"     the          judge       lumped        together       an       enormous      multitude      of

documents.             The judge's approach caused DCJ, in its appellate




                                                                                              A-6440-08T3
                                                      17

brief, to devote nearly two single-spaced pages in a footnote to

cross-referencing all of these documents to the Vaughn index,

which is something the judge himself should have done.                                  As but

one example, DCJ's brief explains that group seven consists of

"58     separate       investigative      reports              by     various       criminal

investigators," which "are found at page 37, row 2, through page

                      Group seven of the Vaughn index alone consumes
38, row 3."

pages 221-232 of plaintiff's appendix.

       The    Vaughn    index    itself    is    sixty-two            pages     long.       It

contains a total of 312 separate entries.                          It is highly unlikely

that    the    same    Loigman    factors       ("[d]isclosure            .   .     .    would

discourage witnesses from reporting . . . criminal activities,

reveal   self-critical        analyses    and        .    .    .    [cause]     a   chilling

effect on future agency activities") could possibly apply with

equal force to 312 documents.                   For these reasons, we reject

DCJ's contention that because the judge listed the documents he

had reviewed, he complied with our instruction to conduct an

individualized assessment of each document.

       Another problem with the judge's February 2009 opinion is

the    absence   of     any   description       of       the    contents      of    the    312

documents the judge reviewed.             Although the judge identified the

author and the recipient of each letter or facsimile, he has

told us nothing about their content.                     DCJ urges us to read the




                                                                                    A-6440-08T3
                                          18

judge's list of documents in conjunction with the Vaughn index,

because the Vaughn index provides more information about the

documents.          However,        the        only     additional,        substantive

information provided by the Vaughn index is the identity of

third   parties     who   were     mentioned       in    the    document    and       which

privilege DCJ was asserting as to the document; the Vaughn index

provides no further insight into the content of the documents

themselves.       Without knowing more about the content, this court

is unable to conduct any review, much less a thorough review, of

plaintiff's claims.

     In    particular,      and    as     an    example,       without   knowing        the

content of the "internal investigative reports" referenced in

group     seven     or    of      the     "internal        memoranda"       from        DCJ

investigators to deputy attorneys general referenced in group

six, our review of the judge's conclusions is impossible.                               How

can we affirm or reverse the judge's conclusions that disclosure

would     "reveal     self-critical            analyses,"      thereby     causing         a

"chilling"     effect      on     future        agency      activities,      or        that

disclosure    would      "discourage      witnesses       from    reporting       .    .   .

criminal activities" if we are left completely in the dark about

the content of the actual documents?4


4
  The documents themselves are not part of the record on appeal,
and we therefore have no way to evaluate the soundness of the
                                                     (continued)


                                                                              A-6440-08T3
                                           19

       It was for this very reason, relying on Seacoast, supra,

358    N.J.    Super.       at    542,     that       we   rejected      the      first    judge's

                                                            Supra, 396 N.J. Super. at
conclusory opinion in Rosenberg I.

581.          The     February          2009     opinion      suffers          from    identical

shortcomings.              It    provides        us    with    no       description        of    the

contents of the documents that were reviewed in camera on a

document-by-document basis; it fails to explain which Loigman

factors       apply    to       which     documents;        and     it    fails       to   balance

plaintiff's         right        of     access     against        the    State's       purported

interest in avoiding disclosure.

       We note that DCJ has spent a substantial portion of its

brief    arguing       that       the    judge's       decision        not    to   release       the

documents was not an abuse of discretion because plaintiff's

interests in disclosure did not outweigh the State's interest in

maintaining confidentiality.                     This issue is not before us given

the posture of the present appeal.                         Plaintiff has appealed only

as to the form of the judge's opinion and has argued that the

judge    failed       to    follow        the     directive       of     Rosenberg         I.      No

argument       has     been       made     by      plaintiff        as       to    whether       the



(continued)
judge's legal determinations or his application of the Loigman
factors.   Should there be any further appeal, the party filing
the appeal should arrange for the delivery to us of a
copy of each of the documents the Law Division reviewed in
camera. R. 2:5-4(a) and (d).



                                                                                           A-6440-08T3
                                                  20

substantive holding, that the documents should not be released,

constitutes an abuse of discretion.                 Moreover, this issue is not

currently        ripe    for     this   court's     review     in   light   of    the

deficiencies in the judge's February 2009 opinion that we have

already discussed, and the absence of the documents from the

record on appeal.          Without the factual findings and rationales

required by Rosenberg I, this court cannot proceed to the next

stage       of   determining       whether     an   abuse     of    discretion    has

occurred.         See Shuttleworth v. City of Camden, 
258 N.J. Super.
 573,    588      (App.   Div.)    (observing    that    a    judge's   decision     on

release of documents is reviewed for an abuse of discretion),

certif. denied, 
133 N.J. 429 (1992).

       We    reverse     the   August    11,   2009    order    that   adopted    the

February 25, 2009 opinion.              We remand for the issuance of the

opinion we required in Rosenberg I.

       Reversed and remanded.




                                                                            A-6440-08T3
                                          21



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