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

Fox Rothschild Case, and Two Criminal Appeals, Come to the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in three cases. Two of them are criminal matters. The third involves a claim against the Fox Rothschild law firm on...

Appellate Division Statistics for the 2017-18 Term

The annual summary of Appellate Division statistics is out. They cover the 2017-18 Term, which ended on August 31, 2018. Once again, the figures have stayed remarkably consistent from year...

The Supreme Court Will Address "Not Raised Below," and Three Criminal Appeals

The Supreme Court has announced that it has granted certification in three cases, all criminal matters, and that a civil case will be before it on an appeal as of...

David Porter is Confirmed to a Third Circuit Seat

In April, this blog reported on the nomination of David Porter to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Despite the opposition of one of his home state Senators, Robert Casey,...

House Judiciary Committee Votes for Live Streaming of U.S. Supreme Court and Circuit Court of Appeals Oral Arguments

The House Judiciary Committee, by a voice vote, advanced the Judiciary Reforms, Organizational and Modernization Act of 2018, known as "the Judiciary ROOM Act." The bill number is H.R. 6755....

Michael E. Patunas (1967-2018)

This is a very difficult post to write. Michael E. Patunas was my colleague at Lite DePalma Greenberg, LLC for more than fifteen years. He was my partner for a...

Unlike Municipal License Fees for Landlords, Municipal Fees to Defray Costs of Inspecting Apartment Units Are Authorized

Cona v. Township of Washington, 456 N.J. Super. 197 (App. Div. 2018). In Timber Glen Phase III, LLC v. Hamilton Tp., 441 N.J. Super. 514 (App. Div. 2015), the Appellate...

As Summer Nears Its End, the Third Circuit Cranks Out Opinions

This time of the year there are slim pickings in terms of published opinions of the Supreme Court of New Jersey or the Appellate Division. Even unpublished Appellate Division opinions...

Daubert Factors (But Not Daubert) Come to New Jersey

In re Accutane Litigation, 234 N.J.340 (2018). [Disclosure: I argued this appeal, together with co-counsel, on behalf of the plaintiffs. The opinions expressed in this post are mine alone, and...

Supplementary Statement of Reasons by a Trial Level Judge, Redux

Abdelkader v. Hosny, 2018 WL 3579897 (App. Div. July 26, 2018). In State in Interest of N.P., 453 N.J. Super. 480 (App. Div. 2018), discussed here, Judge Messano discussed the...

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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....