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

Supreme Court of New Jersey Will Review Attorneys' Fee Enhancement Case

The Supreme Court of New Jersey has granted certification to review that portion of the decision in Walker v. Giuffre, 415 N.J. Super. 597 (App. Div. 2010), that involved an...

Expungement of Conviction Does Not Make Reference to That Conviction Tortious

G.D. v. Kenny, 205 N.J. 275 (2011). A political campaign flyer charged that a candidate had as an aide "a DRUG DEALER who went to JAIL for FIVE YEARS for selling coke...

When May a Party Unilaterally Withdraw an Appeal?

State v. Gaffey, 92 N.J. 374 (1983). Today is the 28th anniversary of this opinion, so it seems appropriate to revisit this case today. Though the "meritorious issue [was] whether...

Attorneys' Fees Under the "Fund in Court" Doctrine

Porreca v. City of Millville, 419 N.J. Super. 212 (App. Div. 2011). Rule 4:42-9(a)(2) permits recovery of attorneys' fees from a "fund in court." Porreca, a decision written by Judge Axelrad, held that the...

Increased Penalties for Violations of "This" Section- Which Section??

State v. Ciancaglini, 204 N.J. 597 (2011). This case posed the question of whether a violation of the breathalyzer refusal statute, N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.4a, can be used to enhance a conviction under the DWI...

New Jersey Judiciary Website Updated

The courts are closed today for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. That may mean that there is some time to check out the recently updated version of the New Jersey...

Abbott v. Burke- Back to Judge Doyne

Abbott v. Burke, 2011 WL 1990554 (2011). On January 5, 2011, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in the latest of the many rounds of this case, which involves the constitutionally-required level...

Justice Rivera-Soto Will Now Vote (Most of the Time)

Hopewell Valley Citizens Group v. Berwind, 204 N.J. 569 (2011). This was a case focused on whether a citizens group that objected to a development had timely filed a prerogative writ appeal....

Justice Rivera-Soto Says Farewell

Today, Justice Roberto Rivera-Soto notified Governor Christie that he did not wish to be reappointed to the Supreme Court when his seven-year initial term ends later this year. Justice Rivera-Soto...

"Catalyst Doctrine" Applied to Statute That Awards Damages

D. Russo, Inc. v. Union Tp., ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2010). In Mason v. Hoboken, 196 N.J. 51 (2008), an Open Public Records Act ("OPRA") case, the Supreme...

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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....

Using Proof of Habit or Routine Practice as Evidence of Conduct in a Particular Instance

Fazio v. Altice USA, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). As Justice Fasciale noted in his opinion for a unanimous Supreme Court today, "[h]abit evidence is particularly well suited for cases involving reasonably regular and uniform routine practices of business organizations." New Jersey Evidence Rule 406 permits proof of conduct in a particular instance via the presentation of habit or routine practice. The application of that Rule was at the center of this appeal....

Two Published Appellate Division Decisions in This Short Week

Tomorrow is Independence Day and the courts are closed. Many have taken vacation time in this short week. But not the Appellate Division, which issued two published opinions this week. Here are summaries....