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

"Retired and on Recall" Superior Court Judges are Constitutional, Supreme Court Says in State v. Buckner

State v. Buckner, 223 N.J. 1 (2015). In one of the biggest cases of the current the Supreme Court term, the Court today upheld the practice of permitting retired judges...

IFPA Claims by Private Insurers are Subject to Trial by Jury

Allstate New Jersey Ins. Co. v. Lajara, 222 N.J. 129 (2015). The Insurance Fraud Prevention Act, N.J.S.A. 17:33A-1 to-30 ("IFPA"), permits insurance companies to sue those who engage in insurance...

Catching Up

My three-week trial ended late last week, with a successful jury verdict. But June was a very busy month in the world of New Jersey appellate practice, with numerous important...

The Anniversary of Plessy v. Ferguson, Another Low Point for the United States Supreme Court

On May 18, 1896, the Supreme Court of the United States decided Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896). This is another of the Court's "Supreme Mistakes," as voted by...

The Supreme Court Grants Direct Certification in Burgos v. New Jersey, the Public Employee Pension Case

Burgos v. New Jersey is a case that asserts that the State's failure to make the full amortization payment required by statute as part of the State's contribution to the pension...

Burgos v. New Jersey (Public Employee Pension Case) Argued

Today, the Supreme Court of New Jersey heard oral argument in this important case. The procedural history of the case is discussed here. The argument ran from just after 10...

NJSBA Task Force: Don't Change the Process for Supreme Court Appointments

In the wake of Governor Christie's decisions not to reappoint Justices Wallace and Hoens, the New Jersey State Bar Association convened a Task Force to study judicial independence. The Task...

Law of the Case Doctrine Does Not Extend From One Party to Another Party Not in Privity

State v. K.P.S., 221 N.J. 266 (2015). Two defendants who had been charged in the same indictment with many of the same crimes sought to suppress certain evidence. The Law...

State v. Czachor

Thirty five years ago today, the Supreme Court decided State v. Czachor, 82 N.J. 392 (1980). In an opinion by Justice Handler, the Court revolutionized the criminal law by abandoning...

The Supreme Court Revisits the Constitutionality of the Redevelopment Law

62-64 Main Street, LLC v. Hackensack Mayor & Council, 221 N.J. 129 (2015). The Local Redevelopment and Housing Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:12A-1 to -73, defines when an area is blighted and...

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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....