On Thursday, December 4, judges on Part C of the Appellate Division will hear oral argument in Wronko v. Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (“MCSPCA”). The case arises under the Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq. (“OPRA”), and the common law right of access.

Plaintiff submitted OPRA requests to the MCSPCA. One sought all contracts then active and current and the other sought the latest payroll records of all MCSPCA employees. The MCSPCA denied both requests, on the grounds that the MCSPCA was not a public agency that was subject to OPRA.

Plaintiff filed suit and originally prevailed before the Law Division. That court then granted a defense motion for reconsideration and agreed with the MCSPCA. Plaintiff appealed.

Among other things, plaintiff argues that the MCSPCA has law enforcement powers that derive directly from statute. The appointed officers of the MCSPCA are authorized to carry firearms, drive vehicles marked as law enforcement vehicles, and have authority to arrest and bring charges without prior approval of the Monmouth County Prosecutor. That makes the MCSPCA a public agency subject to OPRA.

Defendants respond, among other things, that the MCSPCA is merely an instrumentality of the Monmouth County Prosecutor, and that it is the prosecutor that has the law enforcement power that plaintiff cites. Defendants cite the Legislature’s 2018 reorganization of the animal cruelty enforcement system to transfer enforcement power from humane societies to county prosecutors. Plaintiff, defendants contend, can request the documents from the Prosecutor.

The briefs on this appeal are available here. The livestreamed oral argument can be viewed at this link.