On March 26, 2018, a Bridgeton man sued Vineland (Cumberland County) Police officials, a shopping mall and a mall security guard for arresting him while he was at the shopping mall on April 21, 2016 trying to get signatures on a petition to allow him to run in the Democratic Party primary for a seat on the Cumberland County Board of Chosen Freeholders.
The man, Nathan J. Goldschmidt, said that he did not conduct himself in a disorderly manner. He claimed that he was arrested for "soliciting mall patrons for political reasons." Goldschmidt maintains, however, that a 1994 New Jersey Supreme Court decision permits political expression even on private property, such as a shopping mall's premises.
Goldschmidt claimed that the defiant trespass charge against him was later dismissed.
The lawsuit is captioned Goldschmidt v. Officer Matthew Garvey, et al, Superior Court Docket No. CUM-L-197-18. Goldschmidt's lawyer is Louis Charles Shapiro of Vineland.
