NJ Appellate Law Blog – NJ Appellate Lawyer Bruce D. Greenberg blogs about Appeals and Appellate Law Practice

As 2021 Winds Down, the Supreme Court Takes Up Two More Cases

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted review in two more cases. Both involved grants of certification. One appeal, a civil matter, is from a published opinion by a...

A Portion of the Terroristic Threats Statute is Held to be Unconstitutional

State v. Fair, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2021). Here is how Judge Fisher began his opinion for the Appellate Division in this matter: "Defendant was charged in a...

Women as Bartenders: An Anniversary

On this date in 1970, the Supreme Court decided Paterson Tavern & Grill Owners Ass'n v. Hawthorne, 57 N.J. 180 (1970). The issue in the case was whether an ordinance...

A Gym's Claim for Compensation for COVID-19 Closures Under the Governor's Executive Orders Fails

JWC Fitness, LLC v. Murphy, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2021). This opinion by Judge Rothstadt involved the claims of plaintiff, a gym, for compensation from the State because...

Two More Criminal Cases for the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in two more criminal cases. Both are homicides. In State v. Derry, which actually involves two consolidated cases, the question presented,...

The Supreme Court Will Reconsider Its 3-3 Decision in State v. Lodzinski, with Judge Fuentes Added as a Seventh Jurist

State v. Lodzinski, 248 N.J. 451 (2021). In an extraordinary development, the Supreme Court has granted defendant's motion for reconsideration in this long-running, closely-watched murder case. Since Chief Justice Rabner...

An Unsurprising Grant of Review by the Supreme Court

As discussed here, earlier this year, the Appellate Division affirmed in part and reversed in part the Law Division's dismissal of a case that challenged an ordinance of the City...

Four New Cases for the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in four new matters. Two of the cases are civil appeals and two are criminal matters. In East Bay Drywall, LLC...

This Week in the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court issued its first three opinions of the new Term this week. Here are summaries of those rulings: Bozzi v. City of Jersey City, ___ N.J. ___ (2021)....

Catching Up Again, With the Supreme Court and the Appellate Division

After this post about the Supreme Court's busy August, that Court decided two more cases. Both were criminal appeals. Here are summaries: State v. Hannah, ___ N.J. ___ (2021). This...

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"Hot Fun in the Summertime": Appellate Division Summer Parts

In an Order available here, Chief Justice Rabner announced the lineup for the Appellate Division's summer Parts. As has been customary, the "summer" runs not between the meteorological start and end dates for summer, nor from Memorial Day to Labor Day, but from June 16 through September 7....

The Supreme Court Confirms That Municipalities Can be Subjected to Sanctions for Frivolous Litigation

Borough of Englewood Cliffs v. Trautner, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). This appeal presented the question of whether municipalities can be liable to pay sanctions for frivolous litigation, under the Frivolous Litigation Statute, N.J.S.A. 2A:15-59.1 ("the FLS"). In a 5-0 opinion written by Justice Fasciale (Chief Justice Rabner and Justice Hoffman did not participate), the Court affirmed, as modified, the decision of the Appellate Division that upheld the Law Division's imposition of FLS sanctions against the Borough....

The "Castle Doctrine"

State v. Bragg, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). A jury found defendant guilty of twelve charged counts, including attempted murder, kidnapping, aggravated assault, terroristic threats, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, endangering, and two lesser-included offenses of harassment. Some of those charges involved the use of deadly force. Persons may not use deadly force if the can retreat with complete safety. But under the "castle doctrine," an exception to the general rule, a person "is not obliged to retreat from his dwelling, unless he was the initial aggressor." N.J.S.A. 2C:3-4(b)(2)(b)(i). That doctrine derives from the common law....

No Arbitrariness in Rejection of Public Construction Bid That Failed to Include a Properly Signed, Required Consent of Surety

In the Matter of Protest Filed by El Sol Contracting and Construction Corp., Contract T100.638, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). This public bidding case resulted in a 5-2 split at the Supreme Court, the first non-unanimous ruling of the current Term. Justice Hoffman wrote the majority opinion, while Justice Fasciale authored the dissent for himself and Justice Pierre-Louis....