Court: New Jersey Public Law Clinics Aren't Subject to Open Records Law

Public universities' law school clinics are not covered by the state's open records law, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Thursday, The Star-Ledger reported. The decision came in a suit by the developer of a mall who wanted access to records of groups working with a Rutgers University law clinic to block the mall's construction. Law clinic experts said that it would have been impossible for clinics to operate at public universities if all records could be obtained by groups in litigation with the clients represented by the clinics.