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

When New Issues Arise on Appeal, Appellate Division Should Conduct Oral Argument Even if No Party Originally Requested It

State in the Interest of D.M., 238 N.J. 2 (2019). In this juvenile delinquency case, neither the State nor defendant sought oral argument in the Appellate Division. The State, the...

Charitable Immunity Sweeps Broadly to Protect Monmouth University

Green v. Monmouth University, 237 N.J. 516 (2019). In a unanimous opinion by Justice Fernandez-Vina today, the Supreme Court resolved a case that had divided the Appellate Division, as discussed...

The Supreme Court Decides Docket No. A-1-2018, Based on Plain Language of the Check Cashers Regulatory Act of 1993

Garden State Check Cashing Service, Inc. v. New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance, 237 N.J. 482 (2019). As discussed here, this was the very first appeal of the current...

Conflict Resolved: The Supreme Court Applies the Unemployment Compensation Law in Favor of Benefit Claimants

McClain v. Board of Review, 237 N.J. 445 (2019). This appeal actually involved two consolidated cases, each of which was the subject of a published opinion in the Appellate Division....

Two Cases About Access to Swimming

Susko v. Borough of Belmar, 458 N.J. Super. 583 (App. Div. 2019); Curto v. A Country Place Condominium Association, 921 F.3d 405 (3d Cir. 2019). Yesterday, while I was in...

Where Sample Primary Election Ballots Are Required to be Printed in English and Spanish, Official Primary Ballots Must Also Be

Correa v. Grossi, 458 N.J. Super. 571 (App. Div. 2019). Multiple pieces of related legislation can be inconsistent, and courts are called on to harmonize them using classic principles of...

Judge Nugent Reminds Us That Rule 4:23-5's Requirements Must be "Scrupulously Followed and Technically Complied With"

Salazar v. MKGC + Design, 458 N.J. Super. 551 (App. Div. 2019). In Thabo v. Z Transp., 452 N.J. Super. 359 (App. Div. 2017), discussed here, the Appellate Division made...

Waiver, Forfeiture, the Plain Error Doctrine, and the "Third Circuit Model Jury Instructions"

Robinson v. First State Community Action Agency, 920 F.3d 182 (3d Cir. 2019). This opinion by Judge Fuentes today affirms a plaintiff's verdict in a jury trial under the Americans...

Law Against Discrimination is Not Limited by the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act

Wild v. Carriage Funeral Holdings, Inc., 458 N.J. Super. 416 (App. Div. 2019). Plaintiff in this case under the Law Against Discrimination, N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 to -49 ("LAD"), used medical marijuana,...

A Blast From the Past: The Entire Controversy Doctrine and Legal Malpractice Claims

Dimitrakopoulos v. Borrus, Goldin, Foley, Vignuolo, Hyman and Stahl, P.C., 237 N.J. 91 (2019). In 1997, the Supreme Court decided Olds v. Donnelly, 150 N.J. 424 (1997). That decision held,...

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An Arbitration Case and a Cannabis Land Use Appeal for the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in two new appeals. One of those is from a published Appellate Division decision, while the other appeal is from an unpublished opinion of a two-judge Appellate Division panel....

Murder Trial Judge Inadequately Addressed Juror Misconduct, Requiring Remand to Determine Whether Jury Was Tainted

State v. Byrd, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). Justice Noriega authored the Court's unanimous opinion in this case today. During the murder trial that led to this appeal, allegations of misconduct by a certain juror, No. 8, surfaced. That juror allegedly conducted outside research, discussed the case with third parties, texted one of the defendants, and expressed an intent to find defendants guilty. The trial judge questioned Juror No. 8, but on appeal from defendants' convictions, the Supreme Court concluded that the trial court's inquiry "was insufficiently tailored to the allegations against the juror, failed to probe into the heart of the allegations, and was therefore inadequate." The Court remanded the case for further proceedings....

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....

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....