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

Which Should Come First in a Criminal Case Involving a Juvenile Sought to be Tried as an Adult: A Suppression Motion in the Family Part or Waiver to the Criminal Part?

State in the Interest of E.S., ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2021). Judge Sabatino concisely posed the purely legal issue presented on this appeal: "This interlocutory appeal presents an...

Municipal Clerk Acted Arbitrarily in Rejecting Electronic Referendum Petition Signatures Based on Her Perception That They Did Not Match Other Signatures by Those Persons

Township of Montclair Committee of Petitioners v. Township of Montclair, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2021). The Township of Montclair adopted a rent control ordinance. Plaintiffs sought to gather...

BPU Inaction for 20 Months Results in a Remand for the Agency to Act

In re Verified Petition of Retail Energy Supply Ass'n, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2021). This appeal was from the inaction (not any action) by the Board of Public...

The State Must Indemnify as Well as Defend County Prosecutors Offices' Employees

State of New Jersey v. County of Ocean, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2021). This opinion by Judge Mawla involved the question of whether the State was obligated to...

2019 Amendment to the Breathalyzer Refusal Statute Does Not Apply Retroactively

State v. Scudieri, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2021). Whether statutory amendments apply retroactively or prospectively is a recurring issue in the courts. This opinion by Judge Natali addresses...

Ullmann Rule Limiting Discovery of Tax Returns Applies to Corporate Returns As Well As Individual Returns

Parkinson v. Diamond Chemical Co., Inc., ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2021). In Ullmann v. Hartford Fire Ins. Co., 87 N.J. Super. 409 (App. Div. 1965), the Appellate Division...

City of Newark May Impose, and Need Not Negotiate Over, a COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate for City Employees

In re City of Newark and Newark Police Superior Officers Ass'n, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2021). [Disclosure: My firm, Lite DePalma Greenberg & Afanador, LLC, represents the City...

This Week in the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court issued its first three opinions of the new Term this week. Here are summaries of those rulings: Bozzi v. City of Jersey City, ___ N.J. ___ (2021)....

An Adverse Inference Arising From Spoliation Cannot Arise in Order to Allow a Party to Prove a Claim Against a Non-Party to the Case

27-35 Jackson Avenue, LLC v. Samsung Fire & Marine Ins. Co., Ltd., ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2021). This opinion, issued today and authored by Judge Messano, is the...

Public Employees on Temporary Disability Must Still Contribute to State Health Benefit Costs Based on "Base Salary," Rather Than Based on Benefits Received

Grillo v. State of New Jersey, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2021). In 2011, legislation ("Chapter 78") changed the way that State Health Benefits Plan ("SHBP") benefits were provided...

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 161718 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82…Last

Attorney General's Supersession of the Paterson Police Department Was Not Arbitrary, Capricious, or Unreasonable

Bulur v. Office of the Attorney General, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). In 2023, after a fatal shooting by Paterson police officers, the New Jersey Attorney General announced on March 27, 2023 that his office was superseding (that is, taking over responsibility for) the Paterson Police Department. Lawsuits were filed and transferred to the Appellate Division. In an opinion reported at 480 N.J. Super. 395 (App. Div. 2024), and summarized here, the Appellate Division voided the supersession. Today, the Supreme Court reversed in a unanimous opinion by Justice Patterson....

Attorney General's Supersession of the Paterson Police Department Was Not Arbitrary, Capricious, or Unreasonable

Sentencing Counsel's Limited Investigation of Defendant's Citizenship Was Not Constitutionally Ineffective in the Circumstances

State v. Hernandez-Peralta, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). Justice Wainer Apter's decision today for a 5-2 Supreme Court majority began by phrasing the issue presented. "In this appeal, we consider whether sentencing counsel was constitutionally ineffective for failing to investigate defendant's citizenship status beyond asking him if he was a United States citizen and receiving an unequivocal ‘yes,' and therefore not advising him that his plea could make him subject to deportation." The majority found, based on the particular facts, that counsel was not constitutionally ineffective, reversing the two lower courts. Justice Noriega, joined by Justice Fasciale, dissented....

The 2025-26 General Assignment Order

Chief Justice Rabner announced the 2025-26 General Assignment Order. It is available here....