On Nov. 15, the Attorney General’s Office published a 14-page directive announcing an updated police disclosure policy which incorporates criteria set forth by our Supreme Court in the recently decided case of Rivera v. Union County Prosecutor’s Office. The court there held, in a unanimous opinion, that certain internal affairs records relating to police misconduct must be made available to the public under a common law doctrine rationale.

The relevant criteria in the court’s opinion, which have been set forth as factors that favor disclosure to the public, over the need for governmental confidentiality, are now incorporated in the directive as follows: