New Jersey Justices Strike Down Gag Rule in State Probes

Investigators of harassment and discrimination complaints by state employees can’t request that victims and witnesses refrain from discussing the matters with others, the New Jersey Supreme Court said Monday, ruling that the state’s rule as written violates free-speech rights.

The Garden State’s high court said the rule is overbroad under the state constitution because “its breadth encompasses a significant amount of protected speech, and its consequences are real, ‘not fanciful.’” And the rule “appears to extend indefinitely, even beyond the end of an investigation,” according to the opinion.

The justices acknowledged that the state had good reasons for the ...