On July 16, the New Jersey Republican State Committee and other plaintiffs filed suit against Governor Murphy in the Law Division, Mercer County. The lawsuit asserts that the New Jersey COVID-19 Emergency Bond Act, which was adopted by both Houses of the Legislature and (after this suit was filed seeking to enjoin Governor Murphy from signing the legislation) signed by Governor Murphy, is unconstitutional as violative of the Debt Limitation Clause of the New Jersey Constitution, article VIII, section II, paragraph 3(b), and the Supreme Court’s decision in Lance v. McGreevey, 180 N.J....

Baskin v. Martinez, ___ N.J. ___ (2020). This Civil Rights Act case involved what Justice Albin, writing for the four-Justice majority, labeled a claim that “a justifiable police chase ended in an unjustifiable police shooting– the use of excessive force in violation of the Federal Constitution. The question was whether Detective Martinez, who shot plaintiff Baskin,was entitled to qualified immunity. The Law Division granted summary judgment for the detective on qualified immunity. The Appellate Division reversed by a 2-1 vote. Based on the dissent, the detective appealed to the...

State v. Greene, ___ N.J. ___ (2020). Until today, the Supreme Court “has not had occasion to squarely address a prosecutor’s opening statement that detailed evidence of a defendant’s guilt that never materialized because the anticipated witness refused to testify.” So wrote Justice Albin in the Court’s unanimous opinion today. The context was as follows. Two defendants, Greene and Lewis, were prosecuted for murder after they allegedly shot someone while trying to steal drugs from him. Greene’s grandmother, Ethel Smith, gave a recorded statement to police....