In re Attorney General Law Enforcement Directive Nos. 2020-5 and 2020-6, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2020). Here is how Judge Accurso began her opinion for the Appellate Division in this important case: “Responding to state and national demands for accountability and reform of law enforcement following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced in June that he would end New Jersey’s decades-long practice of shielding the identities of law enforcement officers receiving major discipline for misconduct. Determining...

In re Ridgefield Park Bd. of Educ., ___ N.J. ___ (2020). The question in this case was whether health insurance premium contribution rates for members of the Ridgefield Park Education Association (“the Association”) were non-negotiable because the subject was pre-empted by state legislation known as Chapter 78. The Association entered into a collective bargaining agreement that specified contribution rates, but thereafter the Public Employment Relations Commission (“PERC”) ruled in a case involving a different municipality that Chapter 78 pre-empted a negotiated...

Due to a personal matter, there have been no posts on this blog since June 2. This post will summarize some of the decisions from our appellate courts since that date. Separately, Governor Murphy nominated Fabiana Pierre-Louis to fill the Supreme Court seat currently held by Justice Timpone when he reaches retirement age in November of this year. A separate post, on another day, will discuss that nomination. Finally, the Supreme Court granted certification in one new case, Haley v. Board of Review. The question presented there, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk’s office, is...