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

"All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten" and the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on Character

In 1989, Robert Fulghum came out with a book titled "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten." The book became a best-seller. It contained such wisdom as...

45 Years Since Donadio v. Cunningham

In the federal system, Justice Brandeis' concurrence in Ashwander v. TVA, 297 U.S. 288 (1936), has been the source most often cited for the principle that courts will avoid reaching...

Catching Up With the Supreme Court

This has been a busy past ten days for the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, that busy period coincided with one of my own busy periods. So here is a very brief...

Pleading Standards in Putative Class Actions in New Jersey State Courts

Baskin v. P.C. Richard & Son, LLC, ___ N.J. ___ (2021). [Disclosure: I am one of the counsel for the successful plaintiffs in this matter]. In this case, the Appellate...

Supreme Court Will Review Firemen's Association OPRA Case

The Supreme Court announced on Friday that it had granted review in In re New Jersey State Fireman's Ass'n Obligation to Provide Relief Application, 443 N.J. Super. 238 (App. Div....

Just Call Him Justice Timpone

With breathtaking speed, Walter Timpone, whom Governor Christie, in a surprise move, nominated to the Supreme Court on April 11, and who cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee last Thursday with...

Timpone Clears the Judiciary Committee by a Unanimous Vote

As expected, the Senate Judiciary Committee today took up Governor Christie's nomination of Walter Timpone to the Supreme Court. Though there was some questioning of the nominee about his decision...

Timpone Nomination May Move Quickly

There is the potential that Governor Christie's nominee to the Supreme Court, Walter Timpone, could appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee as early as tomorrow. Senator Nicholas Scutari (D-Union) said...

Office of Attorney Ethics May Investigate Grievance That District Ethics Committee Had Declined to Docket

Robertelli v. New Jersey Office of Attorney Ethics, 224 N.J. 470 (2016). As today's decision by Chief Justice Rabner describes in exquisite detail, the Supreme Court has established two different...

The End of a Six-Year Supreme Court Dispute? Governor Christie Nominates Walter Timpone to the Court

The lengthy saga of Governor Christie and the Supreme Court may finally be coming to an end. Without recapping the entire history, in February 2016, Governor Christie nominated Monmouth County...

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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....