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

A Public Employee's Date of Separation From Employment and the Reasons Therefor Are Not Exempt From Disclosure Under OPRA

Libertarians for Transparent Government v. Cumberland County, ___ N.J. ___ (2022). This is an Open Public Records Act ("OPRA") case. A woman who had been incarcerated at the Cumberland County...

Chief Justice Rabner Announces That the Supreme Court Will Function With Six Members For Now

Following this post about Justice Fernandez-Vina's retirement earlier today, Chief Justice Rabner this afternoon issued the following statement, available here: "Under the State Constitution and the rules of the Court...

Last Week's Published Opinions

Last week just flew by. So, belatedly, here are summaries of the week's published opinions by the Supreme Court and the Appellate Division: Graphnet, Inc. v. Retarus, Inc., ___ N.J....

The Supreme Court Upholds the Redistricting Commission's Choice of the Democrats' Congressional District Map

In re Establishment of Congressional Districts by the New Jersey Redistricting Commission, ___ N.J. ___ (2022). As summarized here, in a lawsuit brought directly to the Supreme Court under its...

Back From the Dead

To date, 2022 has not been kind to this blog. Down for a period of time due to malware, and then only partially restored, the blog is now fully ready...

Lodzinski Murder Conviction is Reversed by a 4-3 Supreme Court Vote

State v. Lodzinski, ___ N.J. ___ (2021). Today, the Supreme Court voted 4-3 to reverse the murder conviction of Michelle Lodzinski. Previously, as discussed here, the Court had split 3-3...

A New Order of the Supreme Court Regarding COVID and Post-COVID Procedures Says That Supreme Court and Appellate Division Oral Arguments "Will Generally Proceed in Person"

Today, Chief Justice Rabner issued an order regarding procedures for both the period while the COVID-19 epidemic persists and thereafter. The order runs over six pages and addresses numerous types...

The Supreme Court Will Reconsider Its 3-3 Decision in State v. Lodzinski, with Judge Fuentes Added as a Seventh Jurist

State v. Lodzinski, 248 N.J. 451 (2021). In an extraordinary development, the Supreme Court has granted defendant's motion for reconsideration in this long-running, closely-watched murder case. Since Chief Justice Rabner...

Catching Up Again, With the Supreme Court and the Appellate Division

After this post about the Supreme Court's busy August, that Court decided two more cases. Both were criminal appeals. Here are summaries: State v. Hannah, ___ N.J. ___ (2021). This...

A Busy August for the Supreme Court So Far

August is often a busy month for the Supreme Court, as the Justices count down to the new Term by deciding most if not all of the remaining cases from...

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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....