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

John Hoffman, Nominee for the Supreme Court, Clears the Senate Judiciary Committee

As discussed here, Governor Murphy nominated John Hoffman to fill the Supreme Court seat being vacated by Justice Solomon, who reached mandatory retirement this summer. It took until now, over...

The Supreme Court Will Take Up the Jersey City Ward Map Case

The Supreme Court announced today that it has granted certification in Jersey City United Against the New Ward Map v. Jersey City Ward Comm'n. The question presented, as phrased by...

Five New Supreme Court Grants of Review

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted review in five new appeals. Two of those entailed motions for leave to appeal, while the Court granted certification in the other...

A Cemetery Act Anniversary

It's likely that few of us think much about interment and disinterment of the deceased except when death visits our families or friends. But on this date in 2009, the...

Trial Counsel Not Ineffective Even Though He Was Paid by a Prosecution Witness, Defendant's Co-Parent and Girlfriend

State v. Kearney, 479 N.J. Super. 539 (App. Div. 2024). This appeal was from the denial of post-conviction relief. Defendant had been convicted of murder and other offenses. He raised...

The First Two Supreme Court Grants of Review in the 2024-25 Term

The Supreme Court announced today that it has granted review in two appeals. They are the first grants of review of the current Term. One involves a grant of leave...

Windowless Bedrooms in Low and Moderate Income Housing Units

In light of the recent policy change that calls for the posting online of briefs filed in Appellate Division appeals that will be orally argued, this blog will sometimes report...

Appellate Division Arguments Will be Livestreamed, and Other Related New Procedures

Today is the first day of the 2024-25 Court term. No Supreme Court opinions, and no published Appellate Division decisions, were issued. That is not unusual for the beginning of...

Justice James H. Coleman, Jr. (1933-2024)

Justice James H. Coleman, Jr., the first Black Justice to sit on the Supreme Court of New Jersey, died on August 5 at age 91. This post is very late,...

A Rare Appellate Division Published Opinion After a Grant of Reconsideration

State v. Morgan, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2024). As discussed here, the Appellate Division issued a published opinion in this case. As a reminder, that ruling addressed "a...

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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....