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

Judges Higbee, Manahan, and Sumners are Appointed to the Appellate Division

Chief Justice Rabner announced today that Judges Higbee, Manahan, and Sumners will move to the Appellate Division effective on August 1. All three had been temporarily assigned to the Appellate Division earlier...

Governor Christie Will Renominate Chief Justice Rabner and Will Nominate Judge Solomon to the Supreme Court as Well

At a press conference that just concluded, Governor Christie announced that he will renominate Chief Justice Rabner to the Supreme Court. The Chief Justice's initial term expires next month. Senate...

Recall of Post-Age 70 Retired Superior Court Judges is Constitutional

State v. Buckner, 437 N.J. Super. 8 (App. Div. 2014). The issue of whether mandatory retirement of judges at age 70 is constitutional was discussed here. (As an aside, the Supreme Court ....

Justice Alito at the Third Circuit Judicial Conference

The after-dinner speaker at tonight's opening session of the Third Circuit Judicial Conference in Hershey, PA was Justice Alito, reprising his 2011 appearance. After being introduced by Chief Judge McKee...

No En Banc Review or Rehearing in Carrera v. Bayer

Carrera v. Bayer Corp., 727 F.3d 300 (3d Cir. 2013), severely restricted class certification in cases that involve products of whose purchasers selling defendants do not keep records. That is the...

Financial Conflicts of Interest in Federal Appeals

A report from the Center for Public Integrity, issued this morning and available at http://www.publicintegrity.org/2014/04/28/14630/federal-judges-plead-guilty, addresses financial conflicts of interest in the United States Courts of Appeal. Both a federal statute and Canon...

No Constitutional Right to Have "Ability to Pay" Experts Appointed at Public Expense

Schochet v. Schochet, 435 N.J. Super. 542 (App. Div. 2014). In Pasqua v. Council, 186 N.J. 127 (2006), the Supreme Court ruled that "the appointment of counsel to assist parents...

If You Settle Your Appeal, You Must Promptly Notify the Appellate Court

Sessner v. Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., 435 N.J. Super. 347 (App. Div. 2014). "Dilatoriness in … promptly notifying the court that [settlement] has occurred reflects not only a lack...

Third Circuit Practice Tips

At today's seminar sponsored by the Association of the Federal Bar of New Jersey, a panel headlined by Judges Chagares and Shwartz discussed tips for practicing before the Third Circuit....

Judges Higbee, Manahan, and Sumners are Moved Up to the Appellate Division

In an Order published yesterday afternoon, Chief Justice Rabner announced that Judges Carol Higbee, Thomas Manahan, and Thomas Sumners, Jr., are being temporarily assigned to the Appellate Division. The re-assignments become...

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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....