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

Municipal Judge Cannot Hear Cases Involving Same Municipality's Police Department That Employs His Son

In re Advisory Letter No. 7-11, 213 N.J. 63 (2013). This was an appeal from the Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Extrajudicial Activities. George M. Boyd is the Chief Judge of the...

"The Last 100 Feet Leading to a Polling Place Belong to the Voters on Election Day"

Since today is Election Day, it is an especially appropriate time to revisit the Supreme Court's decision in In re Attorney General's "Directive on Exit Polling: Media and Non-Partisan Public Interest...

"Affirmed by an Equally Divided Court"

In re Parentage of a Child by T.J.S. and A.L.S., 212 N.J. 334 (2012). As summarized in the syllabus (a convenient but admittedly not authoritative source), the issue was "whether the New Jersey...

Immunity Statute Protects Rescue Squad Personnel, but Not the Rescue Squad as an Entity

Murray v. Plainfield Rescue Squad, 210 N.J. 581 (2012). Plaintiffs' son was shot in the chest by his brother. The Plainfield Rescue Squad was called. But there was allegedly a prolonged delay in transporting...

A Perplexing Exercise in Interpreting an Administrative Regulation

US Bank, N.A. v. Hough, 210 N.J. 187 (2012). There seems to be infinite room for judges, or Justices, to disagree about how to interpret statutes or regulations. Sometimes, there are differences even...

JCP&L Can be Liable for Negligent Placement of Electrical Pole

Seals v. County of Morris, 210 N.J. 157 (2012). While driving on a snow-covered road, plaintiffs could not negotiate a curve in the road and struck a JCP&L electrical pole located near the...

Tort Claims Act Bars Bicyclist's Injury Claim Due to Small Depression in Shoulder of Road

Polzo v. County of Essex, 209 N.J. 151 (2012). Plaintiff's wife was riding with other bicyclists on the shoulder of an Essex County road. She rode over a 1-1/4? depression (a dip in...

Settling the Record- Rule 2:5-5(a)

State v. Yough, 208 N.J. 385 (2011). The main focus of this opinion by Justice Albin was whether the Law Division abused its discretion in declining to grant a mistrial when a...

League of Municipalities is Subject to Open Public Records Act

Fair Share Housing Center, Inc. v. New Jersey State League of Municipalities, 207 N.J. 489 (2011). The New Jersey State League of Municipalities ("the League") is an entity created under N.J.S.A. 40:48-22...

Two Lessons in Reading Title 39

Perrelli v. Pastorelle, 206 N.J. 193 (2011); Voss v. Tranquilino, 206 N.J. 93 (2011). Yesterday, the Supreme Court decided two cases involving two different sub-sections of N.J.S.A. 39:6A-4.5. Both cases...

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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....