On Tuesday, November 18, judges on Part D will hear oral argument in Rider v. Jersey City Transfer, Inc. The case arose out of an auto accident in Maryland, in which plaintiff, after striking one vehicle with her own car and getting out of the car, was hit by a tractor-trailer owned by defendant. Plaintiff suffered grisly injuries, sued, and obtained a judgment of over $59 million once the $55 million jury verdict was molded. Defendants appealed....
State v. Byrd, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). Justice Noriega authored the Court's unanimous opinion in this case today. During the murder trial that led to this appeal, allegations of misconduct by a certain juror, No. 8, surfaced. That juror allegedly conducted outside research, discussed the case with third parties, texted one of the defendants, and expressed an intent to find defendants guilty. The trial judge questioned Juror No. 8, but on appeal from defendants' convictions, the Supreme Court concluded that the trial court's inquiry "was insufficiently tailored to the allegations against the juror, failed to probe into the heart of the allegations, and was therefore inadequate." The Court remanded the case for further proceedings....
Last week was an eventful one in the Supreme Court. The Court ruled in three appeals, all in closely watched cases. They are summarized here in reverse chronological order....
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....
State v. Lodzinski, ___ N.J. ___ (2021). Today, the Supreme Court voted 4-3 to reverse ...
Romano v. Stubbs, 2010 WL 5392942 (App. Div. Dec. 16, 2010). In this personal injury case, the plaintiff's trial summation was accompanied by a Powerpoint presentation that the plaintiff did...
Due to certain circumstances and obligations, there have been no posts on this blog for a number of weeks. But have no fear. Posts will resume soon....
Today, the Supreme Court published an Omnibus Rule Amendment order. It is available here. The amendments take effect on September 1, 2026....
In addition to issuing a slew of opinions in the recent period (to be the subject of another catch-up post), the Supreme Court granted review in five appeals. All involved grants of certification....
Professional and personal obligations sometimes get in the way of keeping up with our courts. July has been full of appellate law developments that deserve attention. This is the first of several posts that will do that....