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

The Supreme Court Reaffirms 66 East Allendale Rule for Determining Highest and Best Use in Condemnation Cases

Township of Manalapan v. Gentile, 242 N.J. 295 (2020). Justice Solomon wrote this opinion, issued today, for a unanimous Court. The question was whether, in this condemnation case, the Law...

When Do Intervenors Need to Demonstrate Article III Standing?

Wayne Land & Mineral Group, LLC v. Delaware River Basin Comm'n, 959 F.3d 569 (3d Cir. 2020). This opinion by Judge Fisher today involved a case in which plaintiff challenged...

The Supreme Court Will Address Dying Declarations, Reimbursement in Workers Compensation for Medical Marijuana, and Expert Psychiatric Testimony in Involuntary Commitment Cases

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in three more cases. In State v. Williamson, the question presented, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk's office, is "Was...

A Due Process Travesty in a Workers Compensation Case

McGory v. SLS Landscaping, 463 N.J. Super. 463 (App. Div. 2020). Judge Vernoia pulled no punches in this opinion for the Appellate Division today. Writing for a unanimous panel, Judge...

Where Jail Inmates Had Been Told That Their Telephone Calls Would be Monitored and Recorded, They Had No Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in Those Calls

State v. Jackson, 241 N.J. 547 (2020). In a per curiam opinion, the Supreme Court today affirmed the ruling of the Appellate Division in this case (actually, two consolidated cases),...

Forfeiture of Entire Public Pension Due to Guilty Plea of Accepting $300 Bribe is Not an Unconstitutional "Excessive Fine"

State v. Anderson, 463 N.J. Super. 168 (App. Div. 2020). Defendant, formerly employed by the Jersey City Tax Assessor's office, pled guilty to a federal criminal charge of interference with...

The Supreme Court Takes Up a Miranda Case

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in State v. Ahmad, an appeal from a manslaughter conviction. The question presented there, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk's...

A 3-2 Supreme Court Decision About the "Deemer" Statute

Felix v. Richards, 241 N.J. 169 (2020). This ruling of the Supreme Court today saw only five Justices participating since Justices Patterson and Timpone were recused. The remaining five Justices...

The Lodzinski Murder Case and Three Other Appeals Reach the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted review in four more cases. One of those matters, State v. Lodzinski, a murder case, has received substantial publicity during its lengthy...

Non-Delegation Doctrine Does Not Apply to Executive Actions

United States v. Bruce, 950 F.3d 173 (3d Cir. 2020). The "non-delegation" doctrine, used by the Supreme Court of the United States in the 1930's to void certain aspects of...

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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....