Fernando Piniero, et al. v. New Jersey Division of State Police, et al.
Martin Temple, et al. v. Peter C. Harvey, et al.
David Kushnir, et al. v. New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, et al.
A-2507-07T3
12-12-08
In this appeal, we were required to determine whether the contents of a four-way investigation report of the background check of Joseph Santiago, who was nominated by Governor James McGreevey for the position of Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, was subject to discovery by plaintiffs, New Jersey State troopers, who alleged that they were retaliated against because of their involvement in preparing and compiling the information for the report. Three separate groups of State troopers sought discovery of the four-way investigation. We determined that two of the groups of State troopers did not have the requisite interest in the four-way investigation report to warrant disclosure of the report, and the third group, while having such an interest, was not entitled to the report as its interest did not outweigh the public's interest in keeping the report confidential. Consequently, we reversed the general equity judge who permitted discovery of a redacted version of the four-way investigation report.
