State v. Wade, ___ N.J. ___ (2022). As Justice Solomon said in his unanimous opinion for the Supreme Court today in this murder case, New Jersey courts “rarely find an error to be harmless when the State violates a defendant’s right against self-incrimination. That is not only because the right to counsel is so precious, but also because self-inculpatory statements are powerful evidence of guilt that is not easily overcome” (citation omitted). As a result, a suspect’s statements made after detectives fail to cease questioning once the suspect invokes the right to counsel...

The Supreme Court announced that it will consider three new matters. Two of those involved grants of certification, while the third was an appeal as of right. The appeal as of right is State v. Fair. The question presented, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk’s office, is “Is the portion of the terroristic threats statute, N.J.S.A. 2C:12-3(a), which criminalizes a threat to commit a crime of violence made ‘in reckless disregard of the risk of causing . . . terror,’ unconstitutionally overbroad and did the jury instructions fail to ensure a unanimous verdict?”...

Today is Election Day. In many jurisdictions, litigation efforts to restrict voting or voter choice are already underway and more litigation is being threatened. New Jersey’s Supreme Court, however, has repeatedly and correctly held that election laws are to be liberally construed. Here are three of those decisions, though others could be discussed as well: Catania v. Haberle, 123 N.J. 428 (1990). Here is how Chief Justice Wilentz’s opinion, for a unanimous Court, began: “The Passaic County Republican Committee and the Bergen County Republican Committee selected plaintiff...