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

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...

The Third Circuit Announces That it Frowns on Extensions, and Gives Guidance About Certified Questions of State Law

The Third Circuit has issued the attached Notice to Counsel, which covers two subjects. First, the Court states that "[m]otions for extension of time to file a brief or to otherwise comply with the...

A Proposal to Increase the Time to Appeal From Municipal Court Decisions

A3228 was recently introduced in the Legislature byAssemblywoman Spencer (D-Essex). The bill would provide a 30-day period for filing a notice of appeal from municipal court decisions. The current time for appeal,...

The Supreme Court Goes Mobile

The Supreme Court of New Jersey announced yesterday that webcasts of archived Supreme Court oral arguments can now be viewed in an MP4 format, on notepads, smart phones, or other...

Footnote "Numbers"

Nichole Medical Equipment & Supply, Inc. v. Tri-Centurion, Inc., 694 F.3d 340 (3d Cir. 2012). Some posts on this blog have much substantive content. This one does not. Though this...

Chief Justice Rabner Elevates Judges Rodriguez and Cuff to the Supreme Court

In an Order issued yesterday, Chief Justice Rabner announced the elevation of Judges Rodriguez and Cuff to the Supreme Court effective October 1, 2012. The Chief Justice acted pursuant to...

See the Appellate Division in Action in Cape May Today!

South Jerseyans, and those who are vacationing in Cape May and who either have gotten too much sun or just want to get a dose of appellate practice, can observe seven...

Shelton v. Restaurant.com to be Re-Argued in the Supreme Court of New Jersey

In Shelton v. Restaurant.com, Inc., the Supreme Court of New Jersey took the relatively rare step of accepting questions certified to it by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. That...

Supreme Court Announces Rule Amendments to be Effective on September 1, 2012

The Supreme Court has approved amendments to a number of Court Rules. The amendments take effect on September 1, 2012. The changes to the appellate rules fall into four general...

Legislature Votes to Place Constitutional Amendment Regarding Judicial Pensions/Healthcare on the November Ballot

Racing to meet an August 2 deadline for putting on the November ballot a proposal to amend the New Jersey Constitution in response to the Supreme Court's decision in DePascale...

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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....