The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in five new appeals. Two of those are from published opinions of the Appellate Division, while the other three bring up unpublished rulings by that court....
In 2014, the Supreme Court of the United States decided Town of Greece v. Galloway, 572 U.S. 565 (2014). There, the Court held, by a 5-4 vote, that opening a monthly town board meeting with a prayer delivered by a local clergy member did not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. In 1981, the Supreme Court of New Jersey had issued a unanimous decision, Marsa v. Wernik, 86 N.J. 232 (1981), holding that the Borough of Metuchen's practice of opening its Borough Council meetings with an invocation selected and delivered by a council member likewise did not violate the Establishment Clause. That ruling foreshadowed, to some extent, that of Greece. The date of the Marsa decision was June 8, 1981, 45 years ago today....
The Supreme Court issued no opinions this week. The Appellate Division issued just one published ruling....
Chief Justice Rabner announced that Judge Frank DeAngelis has been temporarily assigned to Part E of the Appellate Division. The term of that assignment will run from August 24-November 1, 2026 and is in addition to his assignment under the General Assignment Order....
Yesterday and today each featured an opinion from the Supreme Court. Both were unanimous....
Last week saw two published Appellate Division decisions. One was authored by Judge Mawla and the other by Judge D'Almeida....
The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in In the Matter of the Expungement of the Criminal/Juvenile Records of P.L. The question presented, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk's office, is "Does the Recovery Court expungement statute, N.J.S.A. 2C:35-14(m), allow for the expungement of juvenile adjudications for offenses that would not otherwise be eligible for expungement under N.J.S.A. 2C:52-2 and N.J.S.A. 2C:52-4.1?" In an opinion reported at 482 N.J. Super. 319 (App. Div. 2025), the Appellate Division, applying de novo review, affirmed the ruling of the Law Division that allowed the expungement in these circumstances....
To bring things current, this post summarizes three published Appellate Division opinions that were issued in the recent period. The subject matter of these ruling ranged from construing a Court Rule about reconsideration to applying the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act ("PDVA") to determining whether the Attorney General's office was required to defend and indemnify a Deputy Chief Assistant Prosecutor facing an attorney disciplinary proceeding that arose out of his official duties....
This is the second post that catches up with appellate developments last week and this week. The Supreme Court issued rulings in three cases during that period. Two of those appeals involved unanimous opinions. The third engendered a relatively rare 5-2 split among the Justices. Here are summaries:...
Much of last week was consumed by a sojourn in Hershey, PA for the Third Circuit Judicial Conference, a very enjoyable and educational experience. As a result, it's time for some catching up. Today's is the first such post....
