United States v. Bruce, ___ F.3d ___ (3d Cir. 2020). The “non-delegation” doctrine, used by the Supreme Court of the United States in the 1930’s to void certain aspects of the New Deal, has been receiving renewed attention lately, especially in certain conservative circles. As discussed here, Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh each wrote favorably about the doctrine within the last year. read more

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in three more cases. How can the case involving “The Shining” not be discussed first? read more

State v. Thompson, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2020). Judge Fisher, in this ruling issued today in a DWI case, “readily acknowledge[d] this opinion expresses nothing new.” One might wonder, then, why the opinion was designated for publication. Rule 1:36-2(d) provides a number of “guidelines” under which opinions “shall be published.” Several of those guidelines relate, in one way or another, to whether an opinion (to paraphrase Judge Fisher) “expresses something new.” read more

On February 25, from noon- 2 PM, NJICLE will presenting a webinar titled “Do’s and Don’ts of Appellate Practice.” I will be a panelist, along with Judges Koblitz and Sumners and Marie Hanley, Chief Counsel to the Appellate Division. read more

McKeown v. American Golf Club, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2020). Plaintiff McKeown was playing golf with defendant Robinson and his son-in-law, defendant Capavanni, and a fourth golfer, at Beaver Brook Country Club, which was operated by defendant American Golf Club (“AGC”). McKeown and Capavanni each rented golf carts. At some point, Robinson, who is from Scotland, where golf carts are not commonly used, drove Capavanni’s cart. That cart pinned McKeown between his own cart and the cart driven by Robinson, badly injuring McKeown. Robinson asserted that a rangefinder, unsecured on a shelf near the steering wheel of Capavanni’s cart, fell underneath the brake pedal and prevented Robinson from stopping the cart. read more

Estate of Van Riper v. Director, Division of Taxation, ___ N.J. ___ (2020). The taxpayers in this case lost their argument, on summary judgment, before the Tax Court and then the Appellate Division. The Supreme Court granted review, as discussed here, and today the Court unanimously affirmed the decisions below. Justice Solomon wrote the Court’s opinion. read more

New Jersey Land Title Ass’n v. Rone, ___ N.J. ___ (2020). As discussed here, yesterday the Supreme Court affirmed, on the opinion of the Appellate Division, that court’s ruling on a statute of limitations issue. Today, the Court took that route again. The per curiam opinion affirmed the Appellate Division’s decision, reported at 458 N.J. Super. 120 (App. Div. 2019), and discussed here, that County Registers and Clerks may not impose a surcharge or convenience fee when a document is filed electronically. In short, no statute allows that. read more

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in three more cases. Two of them are criminal matters. The third addresses labor and constitutional law issues. read more