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

Delaware Chancery Court's State-Sponsored Arbitration Program is Held Unconstitutional

Delaware Coalition for Open Government, Inc. v. Strine, 733 F.3d 510 (3d Cir. 2013). It is rare that judges, and a court, are defendants in a lawsuit. It is even...

Practice Tips From the Ninth Circuit

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has published "The Appellate Lawyer Representatives' Guide to Practice in the United States Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit." That Guide is available...

Judge Fernandez-Vina Clears the Judiciary Committee

Today was the day that the Senate Judiciary Committee held its hearing on the nomination to the Supreme Court of Camden County Superior Court Judge Fausto Fernandez-Vina. The hearing featured...

Despite Government Shutdown, the Third Circuit Will Remain Open

Yesterday, Chief Judge McKee issued an Order of the Chief Circuit Judge Regarding the Operations of the Courts in the Absence of an Appropriation or Continuing Resolution Enacted by the United States Congress...

The "Narrowest Grounds" Doctrine

B.H. v. Easton Area School District, 725 F.3d 293 (3d Cir. 2013). The majority opinion in this en banc case, written by Judge Smith, begins as follows. "Once again, we...

"Building the Trial Record and Arguing it on Appeal"

This seminar, sponsored by the Morris County Bar Association, took place last night. The headliners of the panel of presenters were Justice Patterson and Judges Axelrad, Sabatino, and Stern. [Disclosure:...

New Emergent Application Procedures in the Appellate Division

The Appellate Division has announced new procedures for emergent applications. The Notice to the Bar that details those procedures is available here. The key change is that the Appellate Division...

CEPA and "Watchdog" Employees

Lippman v. Ethicon, Inc., 432 N.J. Super. 378 (App. Div. 2013). Today's opinion under the Conscientious Employee Protection Act, N.J.S.A. 34:19-1 to -8 ("CEPA"), written by Judge Fuentes, reversed a summary...

Judges Rothstadt and O'Connor are Temporarily Assigned to the Appellate Division

It was announced today the Chief Justice Rabner has temporarily elevated Judges Garry S. Rothstadt and Amy O'Connor to the Appellate Division. The two judges will serve there from September...

An Advertisement: "Extraordinary CLE Program With Justice Patterson; Judges Axelrad (PJAD), Sabatino (JAD), and Stern (PJAD- retired); Bruce D. Greenberg, Esq., and Mattheu Nunn, Esq."

The title of this post is the title of an e-mail that went to members of the Morris County Bar Association to announce a seminar on appellate practice that will...

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The Supreme Court Clarifies New Jersey's Automobile Exception to the Requirement of a Search Warrant

State v. Fenimore, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). Both the United States and New Jersey Constitutions protect the people against "unreasonable searches and seizures" and prohibit the issuance of search warrants without "probable cause." Both federal and New Jersey law, however, recognize an "automobile exception" to the warrant requirement. But New Jersey's automobile exception is narrower than the federal exception, as the Supreme Court stated in State v. Witt, 223 N.J. 409 (2015). Today, the Supreme Court ruled that the Appellate Division in this case had interpreted Witt too broadly in reversing a Law Division decision to exclude evidence from a warrantless search. The Supreme Court reversed and excluded the evidence....

"Liberal Standards" for Standing "Are Not Equivalent to No Standards At All," the Supreme Court Says

New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers, Inc. v. Ford Motor Co., ___ N.J. ___ (2025). As Justice Pierre-Louis observed in her opinion for a unanimous Court in this case today, New Jersey state courts have long "take[n] a more liberal approach to standing than federal law." But in this appeal, the statute sued upon, the Franchise Practices Act, N.J.S.A. 56:10-1 et seq. ("FPA"), stated that only a "franchisee" could sue its franchisor. Because plaintiff here ("NJCAR") was not a franchisee but an association of franchisees, NJCAR lacked standing to bring a FPA case....

Compassionate Release Act Does Not Require Physical Examination of Inmates Seeking Relief, But Denial of Relief in This Case Was Arbitrary and Capricious

M.R. v. New Jersey Department of Corrections, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). Plaintiff appealed the denial of his petition for release under the Compassionate Release Act, N.J.S.A. 30:4-123.51 ("CRA"). He argued that he had not been physically examined by a physician, and that the statute required a physical examination. The Appellate Division determined that the statute did not require a physical examination and upheld the denial of compassionate release. Today, in a unanimous opinion by Justice Hoffman, the Supreme Court agreed that no physical examination was required, but reversed the denial of compassionate relief as insupportable....

Prosecutor's Prejudicial Comments During Summation Required Vacation of Conviction on Weapons and Criminal Restraint Charges

State v. Kelly, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2025). Judge Gummer wrote the panel's opinion in this case. The panel reversed defendant's conviction on weapons and criminal restraint charges, based on a set of facts remarkably similar to those in State v. Daniels, 182 N.J. 80 (2004)....