Home News v. State, Dept. of Health

Page 446

144 N.J. 446

677 A.2d 195, 24 Media L. Rep. 2145

The HOME NEWS, Appellant, v. STATE of New Jersey, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH and New Jersey State Registrar, Respondents.

Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Argued Feb. 13, 1996.

Decided June 17, 1996.

Thomas J. Cafferty, Somerset, for appellant (McGimpsey & Cafferty, attorneys; Mr. Cafferty and Arlene M. Turinchak, on the briefs).

Mary C. Jacobson, Assistant Attorney General, for respondents (Deborah T. Poritz, Attorney General of New Jersey, attorney; Ms. Jacobson and Michael J. Haas, Senior Deputy Attorney General, of counsel; Ms. Jacobson and Patricia De Cotiis and Donald M. Palombi, Deputy Attorneys General, on the briefs).

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

STEIN, J.

This appeal requires the Court to determine whether the Right-to-Know Law, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 to -4, or the common-law right to inspect public documents entitle petitioner to receive cause-of-death information on a death certificate. Respondent Department of Health adopted a regulation, N.J.A.C. 8:2A-1.2, that bars the release of such information in all but a limited number of cases. The Appellate Division upheld the regulation and ruled that petitioner was precluded from receiving the cause-of-death information. We granted certification, 142 N.J. 571, 667 A.2d 189 (1995), and now reverse.

I

In 1991, five-year-old Timothy Wiltsey disappeared from a fairground in Sayreville. An intensive investigation followed and the apparent tragedy generated significant public interest and media coverage. Sadly, Timothy's body was found months later in a drainage area in Edison Township.

In February 1994, petitioner, The Home News (Home News), a daily newspaper with circulation in the central region of the state, requested a copy of the boy's death certificate from the Registrar of Vital Statistics of Edison (Registrar). N.J.S.A. 26:8-62 requires that state registrars or other custodians of vital records supply certified copies of records, including records of deaths, to "any applicant." However, N.J.A.C. 8:2A-1.2, which became effective in December 1993, provides that information concerning the cause of death shall be omitted from death certificates unless the applicant is on a short list of persons that includes the decedent's executor, surviving spouse or parent, or one who receives the consent of one of the listed persons, or when the applicant seeks the information for research or public-health purposes.

The regulation was promulgated to effectuate the confidentiality provisions of the Cancer Registry Act, N.J.S.A. 26:2-107, the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) Assistance Act, N.J.S.A. 26:5C-7 to -13, and the Registration of Vital Statistics Act, N.J.S.A. 26:8-40.22 to -40.23. 25 N.J.Reg. 3115(a) (July 19, 1993) (summarizing proposed regulation). The AIDS Assistance Act and the Cancer Registry Act require that cases of those diseases be reported to the Department of Health for purposes of research and coordination of treatment programs. See N.J.S.A. 26:5C-2; N.J.S.A. 26:2-104. Sections 40.20 to 40.26 of the Registration of Vital Statistics Act establish the same procedures for birth defects. N.J.S.A. 26:8-40.20 to -40.26. Each of those statutes requires that "personal and sensitive medical information" be kept confidential. 25 N.J. Reg. 3115(a). By limiting disclosure of cause-of-death information on death certificates, the regulation protects the privacy of those persons who die of AIDS, cancer, or birth defects. As an additional source of authority for withholding cause-of-death information, the respondent cites Executive Order Number 9 exempting from the Right-to-Know Law "[r]ecords concerning morbidity, mortality and reportable diseases of named persons required to be made, maintained or kept by any State or local governmental agency." Exec. Order No. 9, § 3(c), 1963 N.J. Laws 1153, 1157 (Sept. 30, 1963).

Because Home News was not one of the persons permitted by the regulation to receive the information, the Registrar provided only a partial copy of the death certificate, omitting the information concerning the cause of death. Home News commenced this action by way of a complaint and order to show cause pursuant to the Right-to-Know Law, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 to -4, and the common-law right to inspect public documents. The complaint seeks a declaratory judgment setting aside the regulation and compelling the disclosure of the complete death certificate. The matter was transferred to the Appellate Division pursuant to Rule 2:2-3(a)(2) (governing appeal from final decision of administrative officer).

In an unreported opinion, the Appellate Division upheld the regulation and dismissed the complaint. The court held that the regulation was a proper exercise of the Department of Health's authority under N.J.S.A. 26:8-23, which permits the Department to promulgate regulations necessary to enforce the laws relating to vital statistics. The court determined that the regulation achieved a compromise between the statutory duty to furnish copies of death certificates and the imperative of the AIDS Assistance Act to protect the confidentiality of AIDS sufferers, noting that in that Act the Legislature "enunciated ... a compelling public interest to exclude cause-of-death information from the [Right-to-Know Law]." Although recognizing the "clear potential [that] Timothy Wiltsey's death may not have been AIDS-related," the court concluded that withholding the cause of death in all cases was a reasonable exercise of rulemaking authority because, if the cause of death were excluded only in AIDS cases, the recipient of a death certificate that omitted the cause of death would be able to deduce that the decedent had died of AIDS. Thus, in addition to the primary purpose of preventing direct disclosure of the cause of death of AIDS victims, the Appellate Division discerned a secondary, prophylactic interest that justified blanket non-disclosure.

The Appellate Division disposed of Home News's argument based on the common-law right of access to public documents without extended discussion, holding that "even the interest of a newspaper must yield to the strong public policy for confidentiality identified in the AIDS [Assistance] Act."

II

Only last term this Court restated the legal principles that govern the public's common-law and statutory rights of access to public records. See Southern New Jersey Newspapers, Inc. v. Township of Mt. Laurel, 141 N.J. 56, 660 A.2d 1173 (1995); Higg-A-Rella, Inc. v. County of Essex, 141 N.J. 35, 660 A.2d 1163 (1995). We need not revisit this area of the law in detail to resolve the question posed by this record.

Under the Right-to-Know Law, New Jersey citizens have an absolute right to inspect, copy, or purchase records "required by law to be made, maintained or kept on file" by public officials. N.J.S.A. 47:1A-2; see Higg-A-Rella, supra, 141 N.J. at 43, 660 A.2d 1163. Death certificates constitute "Right-to-Know" records. See Home News Publishing Co. v. State, 239 N.J.Super. 172, 180, 570 A.2d 1267 (App.Div.1990). The statute provides, however, that certain records may be exempted from disclosure by various means, including legislation, order of the Governor, or regulation, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-2, although this power must be exercised with discretion and only to the extent "necessary for the protection of the public interest." Irval Realty Inc. v. Board of Pub. Util. Comm'rs, 61 N.J. 366, 374, 294 A.2d 425 (1972). Because of our disposition of this case under the common-law right of access to public documents, we do not determine whether the regulation is entirely consistent with the authorizing statutes and properly exempts all cause-of-death information from the Right-to-Know Law.

The common-law right to inspect documents extends to a wider pool of public records than does the Right-to-Know Law, but the right itself is a qualified one. Atlantic City Convention Ctr. Auth. v. South Jersey Publishing Co., 135 N.J. 53, 60, 637 A.2d 1261 (1994). A written memorial "made by public officers in the exercise of public functions" will constitute a common-law public record, Nero v. Hyland, 76 N.J. 213, 222, 386 A.2d 846 (1978), and death certificates incontestably fall within that category. Unlike the statutory right, however, there is a threshold standing requirement that the applicant have an interest in the subject matter of the material sought. Southern New Jersey Newspapers, supra, 141 N.J. at 71, 660 A.2d 1173. Moreover, the applicant must establish that the balance of its interest in disclosure against the public interest in maintaining confidentiality weighs in favor of disclosure. Id. at 72, 660 A.2d 1173.

To satisfy the standing requirement, the applicant's interest need not be personal; thus, a citizen's concern about a public problem is a sufficient interest for purposes of standing. Id. at 71, 660 A.2d 1173; Irval Realty, supra, 61 N.J. at 372, 294 A.2d 425. The press's role as "the eyes and ears of the public" generally is sufficient to confer standing on a newspaper that seeks access to public documents. South Jersey Publishing Co. v. New Jersey Expressway Auth., 124 N.J. 478, 496-97, 591 A.2d 921 (1991); see Southern New Jersey, supra, 141 N.J. at 71, 660 A.2d 1173. Indeed, a legitimate, private profit motive is also sufficient. Higg-A-Rella, supra, 141 N.J. at 47, 660 A.2d 1163. As a commercial entity, newspapers regularly pursue and print stories based on their potential public interest and appeal, as contrasted with news stories that inherently serve the public interest; the newsworthiness and commercial value of such stories clearly suffice to confer standing on a newspaper under the common-law right of access.

In the next step of the analysis, the applicant's interest in the public record in question is balanced against the public's interest in maintaining confidentiality. In that context, the applicant's interest is more closely scrutinized,...