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

President Obama Nominates Judge Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court of the United States

Today, President Obama made his nomination to fill the seat that came open when Justice Scalia died. The nominee is Chief Judge Merrick B. Garland of the District of Columbia...

Governor Christie Renominates Judge Bauman for the Supreme Court

Yesterday, Governor Christie announced that he was nominating Monmouth County Superior Court Judge David Bauman to fill the Supreme Court seat currently occupied by Judge Cuff. The announcement was a...

February 29: An Anniversary in Civil Rights Act Law

February 29 comes around only every four years (all right, every four years except for certain years that end in double zeros). February 29 was the birthdate of Frederic, the...

Editorial: The United States Senate Should Take Up President Obama's Supreme Court Nomination, When Made

Within hours of the death of Justice Scalia, talk turned to who President Obama might nominate to fill his seat, and whether the United States Senate would consider that nomination...

New Mother's Failure to Tell Hospital Staff That She Had Used Certain Medication During Pregnancy Constituted Child Abuse or Neglect

New Jersey Division of Child Protection & Permanency v. K.M., 444 N.J. Super. 325 (App. Div. 2016). This is another child abuse and neglect appeal, but one that contains an...

Does a Homeowners Insurance Policy That Covers Losses from "Hidden Decay" Protect Against Loss From "Hidden Defects"?

Bardis v. Stinson, 444 N.J. Super. 448 (App. Div. 2016). This insurance coverage matter is a case with an unusual sequence of appellate events. The case was argued before the...

Despite Criticism of Its Brief as Disingenuous or Intentionally Misleading, the Division of Child Protection Wins Qualified Immunity

Mammaro v. New Jersey Div. of Child Protection & Permanency, 814 F.3d 164 (3d Cir. 2016). In this case, plaintiff brought a civil rights case against the New Jersey Division...

New Jersey Sports Gambling Law Case Argued En Banc

As discussed here, the en banc Third Circuit was to hear oral argument in this case today, and it did so this morning. The audio of that oral argument, which...

Special Sunday Alert: Justice Scalia Dies

Justice Antonin Scalia of the Supreme Court of the United States died yesterday. Born in Trenton, New Jersey on March 11, 1936, he was 79 at his death. A graduate...

Proposed Changes to New Jersey Appellate Rules

The Supreme Court has published for comments the report of its Civil Practice Committee. The report is available here. The Committee has proposed revisions to three appellate rules. There are...

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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....