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

An Unusual Power of the Governor

In re Veto of Minutes of New Jersey Racing Comm'n, 429 N.J. Super. 277 (App. Div. 2012). This case, in which Judge Messano wrote the Appellate Division's opinion, involved an unusual statutory...

Governor Christie Nominates Two to the Supreme Court

Governor Christie announced today that he was nominating Robert Hanna and Judge David Bauman to fill the two Supreme Court seats now occupied by temporarily-assigned judges of the Appellate Division....

Draft Agency Report is Absolutely Protected From Disclosure Under Open Public Records Act; Government Records Council May Not Decide Common Law Right of Access Claims

Ciesla v. New Jersey Dep't of Health & Senior Services, 429 N.J. Super. 127 (App. Div. 2012). This was an appeal of a decision of the Government Records Council ("GRC"), the state...

In re Mathesius

As part of its constitutional duty to administer all courts in New Jersey, the Supreme Court sometimes finds it necessary to discipine judges. On this date in 2006, the Court...

Conflicting Unpublished Opinions Lead to a Published Decision

Badiali v. New Jersey Manufacturers Ins. Group., 429 N.J. Super. 121 (App. Div. 2012). As Judge Fisher noted at the start of his opinion, the Appellate Division previously ruled, in a case...

The U.S. Supreme Court Says it Again: It is for the Arbitrator, Not a Court, to Decide Whether a Contract Containing an Arbitration Clause is Valid

Nitro-Lift Technologies, LLC v. Howard, 133 S.Ct. 500 (2012). In a line of cases that includes Prima Paint Corp. v. Flood & Conklin Mfg. Co., 388 U.S. 395 (1967), and Buckeye Check...

Rarer Than a Purple Cow: Denial of Certification, Reconsideration, and Then a Grant of Certification

On this date in 1991, a rarity occurred. In Perini Corp. v. Greate Bay Hotel & Casino, Inc., 127 N.J. 546 (1991), the Supreme Court had denied both a petition...

"The Last 100 Feet Leading to a Polling Place Belong to the Voters on Election Day"

Since today is Election Day, it is an especially appropriate time to revisit the Supreme Court's decision in In re Attorney General's "Directive on Exit Polling: Media and Non-Partisan Public Interest...

Supreme Court Will Review O'Boyle v. Longport

The Supreme Court announced yesterday that it has granted certification to review O'Boyle v. Borough of Longport, 426 N.J. Super. 1 (App. Div. 2012), an Open Public Records Act case. The Appellate Division's...

"Affirmed by an Equally Divided Court"

In re Parentage of a Child by T.J.S. and A.L.S., 212 N.J. 334 (2012). As summarized in the syllabus (a convenient but admittedly not authoritative source), the issue was "whether the New Jersey...

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A Municipal Court Administrator is Employed by the Township, Not the Administrative Office of the Courts

Palmisano v. State of New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2025). The opening paragraph of Judge Marczyk's opinion for the Appellate Division well encapsulates what the appeal was about and what the result was. "Plaintiff Lindsay Palmisano appeals from the trial court's April 1, 2024 order dismissing her complaint with prejudice against defendant State of New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts and Municipal Division (AOC) pursuant to Rule 4:6-2(e). The primary issue on appeal is whether plaintiff, a municipal court administrator, is an employee of the AOC, thereby allowing her to assert a claim against the AOC under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD), N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 to -49. Based on our review of the record and the applicable legal principles, we conclude plaintiff was employed by Vernon Township (Township), not the AOC, and, therefore, we affirm."...

Supreme Court to Take Up Two Published Appellate Division Opinions

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted review in two new appeals. One is before the Court on leave to appeal. The Court granted certification in the other matter....

South Seaside Park Can Detach Itself From Berkeley Township

Whiteman v. Township Council of Berkeley Township, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). South Seaside Park is a small (490 year-round residents) barrier island community that has been annexed to the Township of Berkeley ("the Township"). South Seaside Park sought to deannex itself from the Township and to be annexed instead to the Borough of Seaside Park. South Seaside Park followed a statutory petitioning procedure in doing so. The Township refused consent. South Seaside Park went to court and won a ruling from the Law Division that rejected the Township's refusal. The Appellate Division affirmed. Yesterday, in a unanimous opinion by Justice Patterson, the Supreme Court affirmed as well....

Megan's Law "Not Likely to Pose a Threat to the Safety of Others" Extends to Non-Sexual as Well as Sexual Re-Offenses

In re Registrant S.O., ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2025). This appeal presented a pure legal issue relating to the "public safety prongs" contained in the termination provisions of Megan's Law, N.J.S.A. 2C:7-2(f), and the Community Supervision for Life statute ("CSL"), N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6.4(c). Judge Vanek crystallized that "novel" issue as "whether, on a registrant's application to terminate Megan's Law and CSL obligations, the phrase ‘not likely to pose a threat to the safety of others' should be broadly interpreted with the trial court considering threats to safety from subsequent non-sexual and sexual offenses or whether the inquiry should be limited to the threat of sexual re-offense only." The panel held that the broader view was the correct one....