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

Back From the Dead

To date, 2022 has not been kind to this blog. Down for a period of time due to malware, and then only partially restored, the blog is now fully ready...

Lodzinski Murder Conviction is Reversed by a 4-3 Supreme Court Vote

State v. Lodzinski, ___ N.J. ___ (2021). Today, the Supreme Court voted 4-3 to reverse the murder conviction of Michelle Lodzinski. Previously, as discussed here, the Court had split 3-3...

This Week's Published Opinions

Today is a court holiday for New Jersey state and federal courts. That affords an opportunity to catch up with this week's published opinions from the Supreme Court,, the Appellate...

One More Supreme Court Grant of Review for 2021

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted leave to appeal in State v. Bullock. The question presented, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk's office, is "Were the detectives...

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...

Which Should Come First in a Criminal Case Involving a Juvenile Sought to be Tried as an Adult: A Suppression Motion in the Family Part or Waiver to the Criminal Part?

State in the Interest of E.S., ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2021). Judge Sabatino concisely posed the purely legal issue presented on this appeal: "This interlocutory appeal presents an...

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...

The Municipal Vacancy Act, The Status of Real Estate Salespeople, And a Miranda Warnings Case Come Before the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted review in three new cases. In two of those matters, the Court granted certification. The third is before the Court on leave...

A Criminal Case Involving Multiple Rules of Evidence Comes Before the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in State v. Higgs. The question presented, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk's office, is "Was evidence about past internal...

2019 Amendment to the Breathalyzer Refusal Statute Does Not Apply Retroactively

State v. Scudieri, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2021). Whether statutory amendments apply retroactively or prospectively is a recurring issue in the courts. This opinion by Judge Natali addresses...

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Retired Policeman's Pension Benefits Were Wrongly Paid to His Estranged Spouse Rather Than to His Estate, Where He Had Not Designated Anyone to Receive the Pension Benefit if He Died

Isaac v. Board of Trustees, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). Two kinds of benefits are payable to retired members of the.Police and Firemen's Retirement System ("PFRS"). One is a pension benefit, a part of the member's compensation for past services. Pension benefits go to the person whom the member designates, or to the member's estate if no designation is made. The other is a survivor's benefit, which goes to the member's widow for the duration of his or her widowhood. Former Newark policeman Keith Isaac made no designation as to his pension benefits, though he did list his estranged wife, Roxanne, as his spouse when he filed for retirement. Based on that, Isaac's pension benefits were distributed to Roxanne. Isaac's estate contested that, and today the Supreme Court held that the estate should have gotten the pension monies....

The Supreme Court Clarifies New Jersey's Automobile Exception to the Requirement of a Search Warrant

State v. Fenimore, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). Both the United States and New Jersey Constitutions protect the people against "unreasonable searches and seizures" and prohibit the issuance of search warrants without "probable cause." Both federal and New Jersey law, however, recognize an "automobile exception" to the warrant requirement. But New Jersey's automobile exception is narrower than the federal exception, as the Supreme Court stated in State v. Witt, 223 N.J. 409 (2015). Today, the Supreme Court ruled that the Appellate Division in this case had interpreted Witt too broadly in reversing a Law Division decision to exclude evidence from a warrantless search. The Supreme Court reversed and excluded the evidence....

"Liberal Standards" for Standing "Are Not Equivalent to No Standards At All," the Supreme Court Says

New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers, Inc. v. Ford Motor Co., ___ N.J. ___ (2025). As Justice Pierre-Louis observed in her opinion for a unanimous Court in this case today, New Jersey state courts have long "take[n] a more liberal approach to standing than federal law." But in this appeal, the statute sued upon, the Franchise Practices Act, N.J.S.A. 56:10-1 et seq. ("FPA"), stated that only a "franchisee" could sue its franchisor. Because plaintiff here ("NJCAR") was not a franchisee but an association of franchisees, NJCAR lacked standing to bring a FPA case....

Compassionate Release Act Does Not Require Physical Examination of Inmates Seeking Relief, But Denial of Relief in This Case Was Arbitrary and Capricious

M.R. v. New Jersey Department of Corrections, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). Plaintiff appealed the denial of his petition for release under the Compassionate Release Act, N.J.S.A. 30:4-123.51 ("CRA"). He argued that he had not been physically examined by a physician, and that the statute required a physical examination. The Appellate Division determined that the statute did not require a physical examination and upheld the denial of compassionate release. Today, in a unanimous opinion by Justice Hoffman, the Supreme Court agreed that no physical examination was required, but reversed the denial of compassionate relief as insupportable....