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

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Today is the observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. It is both a federal and a New Jersey holiday that is observed on the third Monday of January,...

Governor Christie Withdraws Hanna Nomination to the Supreme Court

According to a report on nj.com today, Governor Christie is withdrawing his nomination of Robert Hanna to the Supreme Court. Hanna and Governor Christie's other Supreme Court nominee, Monmouth County...

Another Step Forward by the Ninth Circuit

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals announced today that, beginning next week, it will offer live audio streaming of all oral arguments. That announcement continues the Ninth Circuit's trend of...

In re Wilson

On this date in 1981, the Supreme Court decided In re Wilson, 81 N.J. 451 (1979), one of the landmark attorney discipline cases. In a unanimous opinion by Chief Justice...

"Arbitrary, Capricious, or Unreasonable" Test Applies to Judicial Review of Administrative Agency Actions, Whether "Quasi-Judicial" or "Quasi-Legislative"

In re Proposed Quest Academy Charter School, 216 N.J. 370 (2013). In this unanimous opinion, fittingly written by Justice LaVecchia given her Office of Administrative Law background, the Supreme Court...

A Streaming Innovation from the Ninth Circuit

As announced here, beginning next week, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will stream live its en banc oral arguments. The Ninth Circuit conducts many more en banc arguments than...

Justice Fernandez-Vina is Unanimously Confirmed; He Will be Sworn in, and Will Sit With the Supreme Court, Tomorrow Morning

Earlier today, the full Senate voted 38-0 to confirm Judge Fernandez-Vina to take the Supreme Court seat that had been occupied by Justice Hoens. The Supreme Court then announced that...

The Fifth Circuit Addresses New Jersey's Economic Loss Doctrine

Lone Star Nat'l Bank, N.A. v. Heartland Payment Systems, Inc., 729 F.3d 421 (5th Cir. 2013). In September, the Fifth Circuit issued this short opinion that interprets and applies New...

State Withdraws Same Sex Marriage Appeal

This morning, the State of New Jersey submitted a letter to the Supreme Court Clerk's Office requesting that the letter be accepted as a withdrawal of the State's appeal in...

Same Sex Marriages May Proceed, as Supreme Court Denies Stay Pending Appeal

Today, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion, written by Chief Justice Rabner, denying the State's request to stay the Law Division's ruling that allows same sex marriages in New...

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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....