Latest news with #OpenPublicRecordsAct
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
KU professor joins lawsuit to pressure New Jersey to allow DNA testing of Lindbergh evidence
Jonathan Hagel, an assistant professor of history at the University of Kansas, is among plaintiffs in a New Jersey lawsuit filed to compel opening of a documentary archives tied to the kidnapping and murder of aviator Charles Lindburgh's son. Hagel and other researchers seek permission to expose certain documents to modern DNA testing. (Submitted) TOPEKA — An assistant professor at the University of Kansas is a plaintiff in a New Jersey lawsuit seeking modern DNA testing of state archive materials tied to the kidnapping and murder of the infant son of trans-Atlantic aviator Charles Lindbergh. The 200-page Mercer County Superior Court suit was filed amid controversy about decisions by New Jersey State Police to block access to the case archive. The plaintiffs — KU historian Jonathan Hagel, author Catherine Read and retired teacher Michele Downie — said their Open Public Records Act request related the 1932 kidnapping was rejected. Hagel, a New Jersey native who has studied the Lindbergh case, said DNA analysis of ransom notes or envelopes could contribute to understanding whether Bruno Richard Hauptmann, who was executed in 1936 after convicted of first-degree murder, acted alone in the high-profile crime. It is among questions that have riveted scholars and investigators since Hauptmann's trial. 'There were more than a dozen ransom letters overall, and they were sent through the post,' said Hagel, a New Jersey native who has studied the Lindbergh case. 'If Hauptmann's DNA is on it, then he definitely is not innocent of being involved. But, if there is other DNA, that would confirm other people's involvement.' Twenty-month-old Charles Lindbergh Jr. was abducted from the family estate near Hopewell, New Jersey. The family was contacted through ransom notes and parcels, and a demand for $50,000 was paid. The toddler's remains were subsequently discovered adjacent to a roadside several miles from the Lindbergh home. 'There are those who think we're likely to find Charles Lindbergh's DNA on the materials,' Hagel said. 'They believe there was some kind of accident, and he orchestrated this as a way to deflect responsibility.' At least one previous lawsuit unsuccessfully sought to compel New Jersey to allow DNA testing of documents associated with the case. A state appellate court said New Jersey law didn't guarantee a public right to physically examine archive materials. In 2023, the State Police said access was restricted to preserve contents of case files. 'My take is that states or police organizations, like any bureaucracy, just like to protect their stuff,' Hagel said. 'There are others who think the state police are embarrassed they may have botched it quite badly and been involved in a railroading.'
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
State's top court to decide records dispute in police discipline case
CJ Griffin arguing before the New Jersey Supreme Court on April 29, 2025. (Ed Murray for New Jersey Monitor) Lawmakers like to tout New Jersey as the 'state for second chances,' citing its expungement law as a crucial tool for helping people move on from their mistakes. But should cops who commit serious crimes that they later get expunged get to hide their wrongdoing from the public they police? That was the question before the New Jersey Supreme Court Tuesday, when justices heard arguments in the case of a Jersey City police lieutenant who got his felony charges expunged after authorities say he downed six to eight beers and then shot at his guests during a dispute a party at his Sussex County home. States Newsroom, the parent company of New Jersey Monitor, sued Jersey City in 2022 after officials there refused to release the police department's internal affairs report on the August 2019 incident that led state troopers to charge Lt. Michael Timmins with terroristic threats and possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes. County prosecutors allowed Timmins to complete a pretrial diversionary program that cleared the way for expungement, even though his offenses violated the Graves Act, a state law that requires mandatory prison sentences for some gun crimes. City officials defended their refusal to disclose Timmins' disciplinary file as necessary under the state's expungement statute, which threatens violators who knowingly disclose expunged records with a $200 fine and disorderly conduct charge. Internal affairs reports are not public records under New Jersey's Open Public Records Act. But a state Supreme Court ruling from March 2022 requires police to release internal affairs reports under the common law right of access when the public's interest in them outweighs an officer's confidentiality concerns, noted attorney CJ Griffin, who represents the New Jersey Monitor. The city's denial also came before a judge approved Timmins' expungement request, compounding officials' error in their failure to disclose, Griffin added. That wrongly impeded the New Jersey Monitor from alerting the public about a problematic officer whose 'sweetheart deal' to dodge discipline raises questions about police accountability in Jersey City, the state's second-largest city, she said. 'The IA unit concluded that it was merely negligent behavior, and this officer received only a 90-day suspension and is still on this force despite his dangerous behavior that could have resulted in killing someone,' Griffin told justices Tuesday. The city's response to Timmins' misconduct is even more of a matter of public concern because Jersey City's longtime mayor, Steven Fulop, is now running for New Jersey governor, she added. 'Transparency is very important to the public, trusting the police. And the public often feels that police are given special treatment, that they cover up for each other, that the internal affairs unit doesn't hold their fellow officers accountable. And I've personally seen that every time we come to this court and obtain a landmark decision that gives us transparency, then we see agencies finding a way to evade that transparency. So those things are all present in this case,' Griffin said. Attorneys from the state attorney general's and public defenders' offices joined Griffin in arguing that such disclosure is warranted, though for slightly different reasons. Viviana M. Hanley, representing the Attorney General's Office, said such internal affairs records should be made public to protect the public's trust in police accountability — as long as they're redacted to hide things a judge has ordered expunged, such as the cop's arrest, detention, trial, and offense. Michael Noveck, from the Office of the Public Defender, echoed that sentiment but rejected the idea of redactions. Officers' misconduct — including expunged crimes — serve as exculpatory and impeachment evidence that authorities are obligated to share with the juries that are tasked with weighing the credibility of cops who testify against criminal defendants, Noveck said. Details of Timmins' arrest were revealed in just such a case. Attorney Jeremy Jacobsen, representing Jersey City, countered that the state's expungement statute contains no exceptions that allow expunged records to be disclosed to media outlets. 'We need to make sure that we are adhering to the plain language of the statute, because there's a lot at risk here if we get it wrong,' Jacobsen said. 'We're exposing our employees to criminal penalties here.' The New Jersey Monitor's fight is a policy one that should be fought in the Statehouse, he added. 'If they're looking for public policy changes, they're in the wrong building. They should be lobbying the Legislature,' he said. Democrat running for governor wants more transparency in Trenton — what about in his own backyard? The Municipal Clerks' Association of New Jersey backed Jacobsen, with attorney Michael S. Carucci telling the justices that clerks labor under 'this heavy cloud' of risking a disorderly persons offense for wrongly releasing expunged records. Disclosure laws require public officials to reveal reasons for redactions, so clerks weighing whether to release information on expunged cases risk litigation either from requestors who get no answer when they challenge redactions or from officers who feel their expungements were wrongly revealed, he added. 'The cat would be out of the bag. The requester would know that something's up here, that there is expunged information,' Carucci said. Such concerns did give some justices pause. 'Under what authority can this court overrule the Legislature when it passes a law that says 'X' will not be disclosed?' Justice Rachel Wainer Apter asked Griffin. Griffin underscored that New Jersey Monitor's request for Timmins' internal affairs report predated the expungement. 'The facts were all public when we filed the request and when we filed the lawsuit,' she said. In further questioning over nearly three hours of arguments, some justices seemed to side with disclosure, possibly with redactions to protect information excluded under the expungement statute. Internal affairs investigators weigh administrative violations, more so than crimes, and the expungement statute applies to criminal justice matters rather than workplace discipline, Wainer Apter noted. 'I'm just having trouble understanding why if a criminal proceeding — if the person happens to be charged with a crime, the entire existence of the IA investigation all of a sudden becomes expunged,' she said. It's unclear when the court will return a ruling. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Yahoo
Prosecutor looks into alleged overtime padding by NJ Transit police
An investigation into whether some NJ Transit police officers and supervisors falsified reports and padded overtime is being conducted by the Essex County Prosecutor's Office. The prosecutor's professional standards bureau is conducting the probe, said spokeswoman Carmen Martin. She did not provide more detail. exclusively reported in August that NJ Transit's internal affairs department was investigating a number of patrolmen, sergeants and lieutenants from the Newark Penn division for allegedly no-show court appearances and falsifying police reports in order to gain more overtime pay. The alleged scheme largely took place in 2021, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation who works at NJ Transit's Police Department and spoke to last person's name was withheld because they were not authorized to speak to the media about the investigation. In January, requested the summary and findings report from the internal affairs investigation, which can be made public in certain circumstances thanks to a 2022 directive authored by New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin Antoinette Lejano, of NJ Transit's Open Public Records unit, denied the request on March 4, saying "there is no applicable law or court order mandating release of the requested records, nor has the County Prosecutor or Attorney General directed release of the requested records." When asked if the Attorney General's office or Essex County Prosecutor's Office would direct the release of the records, both responded that they do not get involved in the outcome of Open Public Records Act requests at an outside agency. However, the request was not filed under OPRA, but rather the common law right of access. On Friday, parent company, Gannett, sued NJ Transit for the records. Stuart Alterman, an attorney for the NJ Transit Policemen's Benevolent Association, said the allegations are "categorically denied." Alterman said there are some "matters that are outstanding," but did not know about the Essex County investigation. "These officers have already voluntarily cooperated with transit authorities and provided statements," Alterman said. "I can tell you with extreme certainty there were no violations of policy, procedure or any laws conducted by any of the police officers that are involved in this case." Jim Smith, an NJ Transit spokesman, declined to comment, citing the pending litigation. This article originally appeared on Alleged overtime padding by NJ Transit police investigated
USA Today
14-04-2025
- USA Today
'Where is your baby?': A familiar tragedy strikes US for the first time in 2025
'Where is your baby?': A familiar tragedy strikes US for the first time in 2025 Show Caption Hide Caption Tips on surviving extreme heat With record-breaking heat waves impacting millions, learn the essential tips on how to stay safe amidst extreme temperatures. Moshe Ehrlich, a 35-year-old student, described a hectic morning on the day he forgot his infant son was in the minivan while he went to class. Ehrlich told police he had a system to remind himself that the baby was in the car, but it failed on this occasion. The baby was left in the minivan for approximately 2.5 hours, with the internal temperature of the vehicle reaching 96.2 degrees. LAKEWOOD, N.J. – Moshe Ehrlich told police he had long feared forgetting and leaving one of his six children in the car before precisely that happened in March, resulting in the death of his 4-month-old son in the family minivan, according to a court record. Ehrlich, 35, told investigators he had acquired several methods to remind him that the baby was in the car. One such method included placing his hat on the front passenger seat while he was driving as a reminder. On March 18, doing so made no difference, he said, according to the affidavit. Details about the circumstances surrounding the baby's last hours were outlined in an affidavit of probable cause that led to Ehrlich's arrest on a charge of child endangerment two days later on March 20. A student at a local religious school, Ehrlich described a disrupted and hurried morning before he went to his yeshiva to begin his studies. The child, whose name was redacted in the charging documents requested by the Asbury Park Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, under the state's Open Public Records Act, had been left in the car for about 2½-hours while Ehrlich was in the Jewish school. The baby was the first child to die in a hot car in 2025, according to data collected by Kids and Car Safety, which tracks such deaths and advocates for preventative measures. Dozens of children tragically perish each year in cars that quickly heat up when left in the hot sun, even if the temperatures don't feel hot out. Many of the children are left by parents unknowingly, according to the organization. The temperature inside the Ehrlich family's car was recorded at 96.2 degrees at 3:45 p.m. that day, even though the air temperature outside in Lakewood, New Jersey, was 67.8 degrees, the affidavit said. 'Where is your baby?' What happened that day Faiga Ehrlich, Ehrlich's wife and the mother of the victim, told police that her husband – who was normally responsible for dropping off three of their children each morning at school or at a sitter's – had been tasked on that day with chauffeuring a fourth child after their 6-year-old missed the school bus, the affidavit said. Faiga Ehrlich left for work at 9:30 a.m. while her husband was getting the children dressed and ready for daycare. Moshe Ehrlich loaded them into the family's Toyota Sienna. The baby is normally dropped off at the sitter's house first, but when Ehrlich reached that destination, he discovered he had forgotten the infant's milk. Before returning home to retrieve the milk, he decided to drop off the 4- and 2-year-olds at daycare and the 6-year-old at school. He then returned home, ran inside, fetched the milk and some other things he needed, and returned to the car. But instead of driving back to the sitter's house, he drove to his next destination, the religious school, forgetting to drop off the baby altogether, according to the criminal complaint. He parked and went into the yeshiva at about 11 a.m. At 1:30 p.m., he was told he had a call on the family emergency line. On his way to take the call, which was from his wife who was phoning after hearing from the babysitter, he was stopped by Zevi Kitay, the 19-year-old son of the babysitter, who had come looking for Moshe Ehrlich at the school. "Where is your baby?" Kitay asked him. Moshe Ehrlich told police he gathered his belongings and ran to the car, removed his baby and called Hatzolah of Central Jersey, an ambulance service in Lakewood. The baby was taken to a medical center and pronounced dead at 2:40 p.m. At that time, a major criminal investigation launched into the boy's death. A virtual autopsy, a noninvasive autopsy conducted using scans, was conducted about 6:30 that night, at which point a determination was made that a full post-mortem autopsy was necessary for the investigation. There did not appear to be any trauma to the baby's body and a cause of death could not be determined until 'cultures' taken could be tested, all according to the affidavit. Results are pending. Moshe Ehrlich was charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child. How kids get left in hot cars The news that a child has perished in a hot car usually sends shockwaves through the local community and can make national headlines. Spectators wonder how a parent could forget their child. These type of deaths most often happen when a parent or caregiver has a change in routine, or parents miscommunicate with each other over who's in charge of taking the baby inside, and it isn't discovered until it's much too late, Kids and Car Safety founder Janette Fennell previously told USA TODAY. It's important to be aware of the danger, because a deadly mistake can be made by any parent at any time, Fennell said. The same brain mechanism that causes someone to leave their cup of coffee on top of their car and drive away also causes someone to leave a child behind, Fennell said. In many cases, a change in routine – like a parent who doesn't normally do daycare drop-off – and a brain operating on autopilot leads to the tragedy. Other times, kids get into cars by themselves while parents think they are down for a nap or playing safely, and they become trapped. Armani Shoemaker, 3, died May 3, 2024, after slipping out of her family home and into an unlocked car in Columbia, South Carolina, authorities said. In 2024, there were 40 child deaths in hot cars in the U.S. from May to November. The most common months for the deaths are June, July and August when sweltering temperatures grip much of the nation. The tragedy has struck the families of over 1,100 kids since 1990, according to Kids and Car Safety. At least 7,500 other children have survived with injuries. "In most situations, this happens to loving, caring, and protective parents," the group's website says. "It has happened to a teacher, dentist, social worker, police officer, nurse, clergyman, soldier, and even a rocket scientist. It can happen to anyone." Still, local authorities have discretion in whether to bring charges against parents who leave their kids in cars. A key question is whether they did it knowingly, though parents who say they accidentally left their child are still sometimes charged. More than half of hot car death cases didn't result in a conviction between 1990 and 2020, according to an analysis by Kids and Car Safety. And about 41% of parents who unknowingly left their child in a car aren't charged. Tips to avoid a tragic accident Never intentionally leave a child in a car alone, even if you think you'll only be gone for a few minutes, experts say. To prevent a child from getting into a car on their own, always keep vehicles locked when not in use, make sure keys are kept out of reach. Ask neighbors to lock their cars, Fennell suggested. Here's what experts say you should do to prevent a tragic accident: Place a visual reminder that your child is with you, such as a diaper bag, in the front seat. Put an important item you need to start your day in the back seat, such as your cell phone, and make it a habit to always open the back door when you get out of the car. Ask your childcare providers to call you if your child isn't dropped off as scheduled, because parents sometimes think they have dropped their child off and go to work, accidentally leaving them in their car seats all day. Fennell also said a tip she likes to give is to keep a stuffed animal in your child's car seat at all times. When your child is put in the seat, the stuffed animal goes on the front passenger seat as a visual reminder. HOW TECH CAN HELP: Technology in cars can alert when a child is left Contact Asbury Park Press reporter Erik Larsen at elarsen@
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Yahoo
'Where is your baby?': A familiar tragedy strikes US for the first time in 2025
LAKEWOOD, N.J. – Moshe Ehrlich told police he had long feared forgetting and leaving one of his six children in the car before precisely that happened in March, resulting in the death of his 4-month-old son in the family minivan, according to a court record. Ehrlich, 35, told investigators he had acquired several methods to remind him that the baby was in the car. One such method included placing his hat on the front passenger seat while he was driving as a reminder. On March 18, doing so made no difference, he said, according to the affidavit. Details about the circumstances surrounding the baby's last hours were outlined in an affidavit of probable cause that led to Ehrlich's arrest on a charge of child endangerment two days later on March 20. A student at a local religious school, Ehrlich described a disrupted and hurried morning before he went to his yeshiva to begin his studies. The child, whose name was redacted in the charging documents requested by the Asbury Park Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, under the state's Open Public Records Act, had been left in the car for about 2½-hours while Ehrlich was in the Jewish school. The baby was the first child to die in a hot car in 2025, according to data collected by Kids and Car Safety, which tracks such deaths and advocates for preventative measures. Dozens of children tragically perish each year in cars that quickly heat up when left in the hot sun, even if the temperatures don't feel hot out. Many of the children are left by parents unknowingly, according to the organization. The temperature inside the Ehrlich family's car was recorded at 96.2 degrees at 3:45 p.m. that day, even though the air temperature outside in Lakewood, New Jersey, was 67.8 degrees, the affidavit said. Faiga Ehrlich, Ehrlich's wife and the mother of the victim, told police that her husband – who was normally responsible for dropping off three of their children each morning at school or at a sitter's – had been tasked on that day with chauffeuring a fourth child after their 6-year-old missed the school bus, the affidavit said. Faiga Ehrlich left for work at 9:30 a.m. while her husband was getting the children dressed and ready for daycare. Moshe Ehrlich loaded them into the family's Toyota Sienna. The baby is normally dropped off at the sitter's house first, but when Ehrlich reached that destination, he discovered he had forgotten the infant's milk. Before returning home to retrieve the milk, he decided to drop off the 4- and 2-year-olds at daycare and the 6-year-old at school. He then returned home, ran inside, fetched the milk and some other things he needed, and returned to the car. But instead of driving back to the sitter's house, he drove to his next destination, the religious school, forgetting to drop off the baby altogether, according to the criminal complaint. He parked and went into the yeshiva at about 11 a.m. At 1:30 p.m., he was told he had a call on the family emergency line. On his way to take the call, which was from his wife who was phoning after hearing from the babysitter, he was stopped by Zevi Kitay, the 19-year-old son of the babysitter, who had come looking for Moshe Ehrlich at the school. "Where is your baby?" Kitay asked him. Moshe Ehrlich told police he gathered his belongings and ran to the car, removed his baby and called Hatzolah of Central Jersey, an ambulance service in Lakewood. The baby was taken to a medical center and pronounced dead at 2:40 p.m. At that time, a major criminal investigation launched into the boy's death. A virtual autopsy, a noninvasive autopsy conducted using scans, was conducted about 6:30 that night, at which point a determination was made that a full post-mortem autopsy was necessary for the investigation. There did not appear to be any trauma to the baby's body and a cause of death could not be determined until 'cultures' taken could be tested, all according to the affidavit. Results are pending. Moshe Ehrlich was charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child. The news that a child has perished in a hot car usually sends shockwaves through the local community and can make national headlines. Spectators wonder how a parent could forget their child. These type of deaths most often happen when a parent or caregiver has a change in routine, or parents miscommunicate with each other over who's in charge of taking the baby inside, and it isn't discovered until it's much too late, Kids and Car Safety founder Janette Fennell previously told USA TODAY. It's important to be aware of the danger, because a deadly mistake can be made by any parent at any time, Fennell said. The same brain mechanism that causes someone to leave their cup of coffee on top of their car and drive away also causes someone to leave a child behind, Fennell said. In many cases, a change in routine – like a parent who doesn't normally do daycare drop-off – and a brain operating on autopilot leads to the tragedy. Other times, kids get into cars by themselves while parents think they are down for a nap or playing safely, and they become trapped. Armani Shoemaker, 3, died May 3, 2024, after slipping out of her family home and into an unlocked car in Columbia, South Carolina, authorities said. In 2024, there were 40 child deaths in hot cars in the U.S. from May to November. The most common months for the deaths are June, July and August when sweltering temperatures grip much of the nation. The tragedy has struck the families of over 1,100 kids since 1990, according to Kids and Car Safety. At least 7,500 other children have survived with injuries. "In most situations, this happens to loving, caring, and protective parents," the group's website says. "It has happened to a teacher, dentist, social worker, police officer, nurse, clergyman, soldier, and even a rocket scientist. It can happen to anyone." Still, local authorities have discretion in whether to bring charges against parents who leave their kids in cars. A key question is whether they did it knowingly, though parents who say they accidentally left their child are still sometimes charged. More than half of hot car death cases didn't result in a conviction between 1990 and 2020, according to an analysis by Kids and Car Safety. And about 41% of parents who unknowingly left their child in a car aren't charged. Never intentionally leave a child in a car alone, even if you think you'll only be gone for a few minutes, experts say. To prevent a child from getting into a car on their own, always keep vehicles locked when not in use, make sure keys are kept out of reach. Ask neighbors to lock their cars, Fennell suggested. Here's what experts say you should do to prevent a tragic accident: Place a visual reminder that your child is with you, such as a diaper bag, in the front seat. Put an important item you need to start your day in the back seat, such as your cell phone, and make it a habit to always open the back door when you get out of the car. Ask your childcare providers to call you if your child isn't dropped off as scheduled, because parents sometimes think they have dropped their child off and go to work, accidentally leaving them in their car seats all day. Fennell also said a tip she likes to give is to keep a stuffed animal in your child's car seat at all times. When your child is put in the seat, the stuffed animal goes on the front passenger seat as a visual reminder. HOW TECH CAN HELP: Technology in cars can alert when a child is left Contact Asbury Park Press reporter Erik Larsen at elarsen@ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: First US hot car death of 2025: Tragedy strikes in New Jersey
