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

No Immediate Supreme Court Review of Challenge to COVID-19 Criminal Jury Trial Procedures, But Direct Certification After Trial Looks Likely

As described in an Order of Disposition of Emergent Application in State v. Dangcil, the Supreme Court was presented with a motion "seeking leave to appeal from the judgment o...

Two Grants of Certification and a Solicitation for Amicus Briefs by the Supreme Court

All New Jersey state and federal courts are closed today for Columbus Day. But late last Friday, the Supreme Court announced that it had granted review in two more criminal...

Three Grants of Leave to Appeal, and a Total of Five New Cases for the Supreme Court

Supreme Court grants of leave to appeal are infrequent, but the Court's latest wave of five new cases taken up for review includes three appeals on leave. All of those...

The Third Circuit in High Gear

At this time of the year, our Supreme Court and Appellate Division go relatively quiet. But the Third Circuit often reaches a peak. Today, for example, that court issued five...

Breaking News: Supreme Court Unanimously Upholds the Constitutionality of the COVID-19 Emergency Bond Act

New Jersey Republican State Committee v. Murphy, 243 N.J. 574 (2020). As discussed here, the Supreme Court directly certified a challenge to the recently adopted COVID-19 Emergency Bond Act. After...

The "Foregone Conclusion" Doctrine Requires a Criminal Defendant to Reveal the Passcode to His Passcode-Protected Cellphone

State v. Andrews, 243 N.J. 447 (2020). In a 4-3 decision that produced lengthy majority and dissenting opinions, the Supreme Court held that it does not violate a criminal defendant's...

Powering Up Again

The power outage resulting from last week's storm put a crimp in much of that week. So it is time once again to catch up with our Supreme Court and...

Straight to the Supreme Court for the New Jersey Republican State Committee's Constitutional Challenge to the New Jersey COVID-19 Emergency Bond Act

On July 16, the New Jersey Republican State Committee and other plaintiffs filed suit against Governor Murphy in the Law Division, Mercer County. The lawsuit asserts that the New Jersey...

Qualified Immunity Denied Based on Dispute About Material Facts

Baskin v. Martinez, 243 N.J. 112 (2020). This Civil Rights Act case involved what Justice Albin, writing for the four-Justice majority, labeled a claim that "a justifiable police chase ended...

Supreme Court's Message to Prosecutors: Opening Statement Promises of a Confession by Defendants Are at Your Own Risk

State v. Greene, 242 N.J. 530 (2020). Until today, the Supreme Court "has not had occasion to squarely address a prosecutor's opening statement that detailed evidence of a defendant's guilt...

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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....