This week saw two Supreme Court opinions and one published Appellate Division decision. Here are summaries:...
The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in five new appeals. Two of those are from published opinions of the Appellate Division, while the other three bring up unpublished rulings by that court....
In 2014, the Supreme Court of the United States decided Town of Greece v. Galloway, 572 U.S. 565 (2014). There, the Court held, by a 5-4 vote, that opening a monthly town board meeting with a prayer delivered by a local clergy member did not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. In 1981, the Supreme Court of New Jersey had issued a unanimous decision, Marsa v. Wernik, 86 N.J. 232 (1981), holding that the Borough of Metuchen's practice of opening its Borough Council meetings with an invocation selected and delivered by a council member likewise did not violate the Establishment Clause. That ruling foreshadowed, to some extent, that of Greece. The date of the Marsa decision was June 8, 1981, 45 years ago today....
Yesterday and today each featured an opinion from the Supreme Court. Both were unanimous....
The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in In the Matter of the Expungement of the Criminal/Juvenile Records of P.L. The question presented, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk's office, is "Does the Recovery Court expungement statute, N.J.S.A. 2C:35-14(m), allow for the expungement of juvenile adjudications for offenses that would not otherwise be eligible for expungement under N.J.S.A. 2C:52-2 and N.J.S.A. 2C:52-4.1?" In an opinion reported at 482 N.J. Super. 319 (App. Div. 2025), the Appellate Division, applying de novo review, affirmed the ruling of the Law Division that allowed the expungement in these circumstances....
This is the second post that catches up with appellate developments last week and this week. The Supreme Court issued rulings in three cases during that period. Two of those appeals involved unanimous opinions. The third engendered a relatively rare 5-2 split among the Justices. Here are summaries:...
Much of last week was consumed by a sojourn in Hershey, PA for the Third Circuit Judicial Conference, a very enjoyable and educational experience. As a result, it's time for some catching up. Today's is the first such post....
In the recent period, the Supreme Court issued one opinion and the Appellate Division published four decisions. Here are summaries:...
As April nears its halfway point, the Supreme Court has granted review in five new appeals, according to announcements by the Court. One of those is an ethics matter in which the Court granted a petition for review. The other four are criminal appeals. The Court granted certification in two of those cases and leave to appeal in the other two....
Due to the press of other work, it's been awhile since this blog reported on Supreme Court and published Appellate Division decisions. There are four opinions to discuss, one of which addressed two cases in a single ruling. Here are summaries:...