Forty years ago today, the Supreme Court decided State v. Celmer, 80 N.J. 405 (1979), a case that arose out of he conviction of defendant on charges of DWI, speeding, and disregarding a traffic signal. The offenses took place in Ocean Grove, New Jersey, a town that had been founded by members of what was then known as the Methodist Episcopal Church. By state statute, the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, an organization of those Methodists, retained title to all land, streets, and other public places in Ocean Grove, and the Association had police powers normally given only to...

Sun Life Assurance Co. of Canada v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., ___ N.J. ___ (2019). This appeal came to the Supreme Court via questions certified by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in the area of insurance. Some such certified question appeals can be rather dry. In contrast, the opening paragraph of Chief Justice Rabner’s opinion today, for a unanimous Court, whets one’s appetite to read more: “In New Jersey and elsewhere, no one can procure a life insurance policy on a stranger’s life and receive the benefits of the policy. Betting on a human life in that way, with the...

In re Avandia Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation, ___ F.3d ___ (3d Cir. 2019). This appeal had an unusual subject: whether certain documents that defendant GlaxoSmithKline (“GSK”) had designated as confidential in the District Court, pursuant to a protective order, but which were filed in connection with summary judgment proceedings, could go into the joint appellate appendix on plaintiffs’ appeal of that summary judgment ruling. GSK sought to keep the documents confidential on appeal. Plaintiffs disagreed, but the District Court largely sided with...