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

Justice Fernandez-Vina Gets Tenure Approval From the Senate Judiciary Committee

Governor Murphy's nomination of Justice Fernandez-Vina for tenure on the Supreme Court until age 70 got a unanimous endorsement from the Senate Judiciary Committee last Thursday. Senators had only positive...

The Anniversary of Baxter v. Fairmont Food Co.

On this date in 1977, the Supreme Court decided Baxter v. Fairmont Food Co., 74 N.J. 588 (1977). The Court's unanimous opinion, written by Chief Justice Hughes, has been cited...

Editorial: The 2020 Presidential Election

This is a non-partisan blog. It has thus, for example, featured endorsements of both Republican and Democratic nominees to the Supreme Court of New Jersey. And, as noted in this...

The Attorney General's Directives Regarding Release of Police Officer Disciplinary Information Are Upheld by the Appellate Division

In re AG Law Enforcement Directive Nos. 2020-5 & 2020-6, 465 N.J. Super. 111 (App. Div. 2020). Here is how Judge Accurso began her opinion for the Appellate Division in...

No Immediate Supreme Court Review of Challenge to COVID-19 Criminal Jury Trial Procedures, But Direct Certification After Trial Looks Likely

As described in an Order of Disposition of Emergent Application in State v. Dangcil, the Supreme Court was presented with a motion "seeking leave to appeal from the judgment o...

Two Grants of Certification and a Solicitation for Amicus Briefs by the Supreme Court

All New Jersey state and federal courts are closed today for Columbus Day. But late last Friday, the Supreme Court announced that it had granted review in two more criminal...

Supreme Court of New Jersey Year in Review- 2019-2020

The Appellate Division issues, annually, reports of statistics regarding its previous court year, such as this one. The Supreme Court, to my knowledge, does not, though a few figures appear...

A Kidnapping Sentencing Case for the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in State v. Paden-Battle. The question presented in that case, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk's office, is "Did the...

Three Grants of Leave to Appeal, and a Total of Five New Cases for the Supreme Court

Supreme Court grants of leave to appeal are infrequent, but the Court's latest wave of five new cases taken up for review includes three appeals on leave. All of those...

A Sentencing Appeal for the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court rarely takes up sentencing appeals. But the Court announced that it has done just that in State v. Rivera. The question presented, as phrased by the Supreme...

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 424344 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146…Last

A Municipal Court Administrator is Employed by the Township, Not the Administrative Office of the Courts

Palmisano v. State of New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2025). The opening paragraph of Judge Marczyk's opinion for the Appellate Division well encapsulates what the appeal was about and what the result was. "Plaintiff Lindsay Palmisano appeals from the trial court's April 1, 2024 order dismissing her complaint with prejudice against defendant State of New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts and Municipal Division (AOC) pursuant to Rule 4:6-2(e). The primary issue on appeal is whether plaintiff, a municipal court administrator, is an employee of the AOC, thereby allowing her to assert a claim against the AOC under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD), N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 to -49. Based on our review of the record and the applicable legal principles, we conclude plaintiff was employed by Vernon Township (Township), not the AOC, and, therefore, we affirm."...

Supreme Court to Take Up Two Published Appellate Division Opinions

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted review in two new appeals. One is before the Court on leave to appeal. The Court granted certification in the other matter....

South Seaside Park Can Detach Itself From Berkeley Township

Whiteman v. Township Council of Berkeley Township, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). South Seaside Park is a small (490 year-round residents) barrier island community that has been annexed to the Township of Berkeley ("the Township"). South Seaside Park sought to deannex itself from the Township and to be annexed instead to the Borough of Seaside Park. South Seaside Park followed a statutory petitioning procedure in doing so. The Township refused consent. South Seaside Park went to court and won a ruling from the Law Division that rejected the Township's refusal. The Appellate Division affirmed. Yesterday, in a unanimous opinion by Justice Patterson, the Supreme Court affirmed as well....

Megan's Law "Not Likely to Pose a Threat to the Safety of Others" Extends to Non-Sexual as Well as Sexual Re-Offenses

In re Registrant S.O., ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2025). This appeal presented a pure legal issue relating to the "public safety prongs" contained in the termination provisions of Megan's Law, N.J.S.A. 2C:7-2(f), and the Community Supervision for Life statute ("CSL"), N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6.4(c). Judge Vanek crystallized that "novel" issue as "whether, on a registrant's application to terminate Megan's Law and CSL obligations, the phrase ‘not likely to pose a threat to the safety of others' should be broadly interpreted with the trial court considering threats to safety from subsequent non-sexual and sexual offenses or whether the inquiry should be limited to the threat of sexual re-offense only." The panel held that the broader view was the correct one....