Entities | New Jersey (10) |
Topics and Issues | Daniel's Law (9) Privacy (48) |
Kratovil v. City of Brunswick
- Complaint filed in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Middlesex County, Docket No. MID-L-003896-23 (July 12, 2023). The case was before Judge Joseph L. Rea.
- Superior Court Judge Rea dismissed the complaint and upheld the constitutionality of the statute. Kratovil moved that (1) The city be enjoined from preventing Kratovil’s “publication of truthful, lawfully obtained information;” (2) Two provisions of state law, N.J.S.A. 2C:20-31.1 and N.J.S.A. 56:8-166.1 be declared “unconstitutional under the New Jersey Constitution, as applied to a journalist seeking to publish information on a newsworthy story;” (3) That the “Cease-and-Desist Notice letter received on May 15, 2023, and sent pursuant to Daniel’s Law is null and void as applied to Plaintiff;” and that (4) The Plaintiff “is entitled to attorneys’ fees and costs pursuant to the New Jersey Civil Rights Act, N.J.S.A. 10:6-1 et seq.; Plaintiff and Defendants shall negotiate fees prior to submitting a fee application.”
Following oral argument on Sept. 21, 2023, before Judge Rea, the plaintiff’s motion was denied (Sept. 21, 2023)
- Brief on appeal to the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division filed by the plaintiff-appellant, Charles Kratovil. Docket No. A-000216-23T1. Kratovil is represented by the ACLU of New Jersey (Oct. 31, 2023).
- Amicus brief filed by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (Dec. 2023). As noted in a Reporters Committee blog post: (1) Daniel’s Law cannot constitutionally be applied either to restrain Kratovil from publishing Caputo’s address or to punish him for doing so. The trial court order is a prior restraint that cannot survive First Amendment scrutiny; (2) The trial court’s application of Daniel’s Law to Kratovil, if not reversed, will stifle journalism in the public interest; and (3) The trial court inserted itself in the role of super-editor. Its application of Daniel’s Law to prohibit a journalist from reporting particular true facts infringes on the constitutionally protected exercise of editorial discretion by the independent press.
Relevant Documents:
- 2024 04 26 – Appellate Div. Opinion (Unpublished)
- 2023 09 27 – Appeal – 1
- 2023 09 27 – Appeal – 2
- 2023 09 22 – Appeal – 3
- 2023 09 21 – Show Cause Order Denied
- 2023 09 11 – OAG Declines to Intervene
- 2023 08 31 – Order Regarding August 30 Hearing
- 2023 08 31 – Court Notice 2023 08 30 – SFTA Amicus
- 2023 08 29 – NJPBA Amicus
- 2023 08 28 – OAG Letter
- 2023 08 28 – ACLU Letter
- 2023 08 23 – Show Cause Order
- 2023 08 22 – CPANJ Amicus
- 2023 08 18 – STFA Amicus Granted
- 2023 08 18 – CPANJ Amicus Granted
- 2023 08 11 – NJPBA Amicus Granted
- 2023 08 11 – NJFOP Amicus Granted
- 2023 08 11 – NJCOP Amicus Granted
- 2023 08 11 – CPANJ Amicus Request
- 2023 08 09 – ACLU Letter
- 2023 08 08 – FOB Amicus
- 2023 08 03 – NJFOP Amicus
- 2023 07 21 – NJPBA
- 2023 07 17 – Amended Complaint
- 2023 07 12 – Complaint
Additional Resources:
- Editorial, NJ Supreme Court Should Provide Final Word On Publisher’s Challenge to Daniel’s Law Application, N.J. Law J., June 7, 2024
- Blog, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
- Blog, Judge Upholds “Daniel’s Law” in Case Filed by New Brunswick Activist