In a recent case, Costigan v. Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office, the GRC reiterated a position it has held since 2015: autopsy reports are not confidential under OPRA’s criminal investigatory record exemption, because they are required by law, specifically N.J.S.A. 52:17B-88, to be filed in the offices of the State Medical Examiner.

After the GRC’s 2015 ruling, I noted in this post that its conclusion concerning autopsy reports may not be correct. The legislative history of N.J.S.A. 52:17B-88 seems to suggest that this statute is not intended to grant full public access to autopsy reports. However, the GRC continues to rely on its 2015 ruling, which did not address this point.