The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in State v. Ahmad, an appeal from a manslaughter conviction. The question presented there, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk’s office, is “Was defendant’s statement obtained in violation of Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966)?” A three-judge panel of the Appellate Division, in an unpublished opinion, affirmed the ruling of the Law Division that there was no Miranda violation in the police’s questioning of defendant. Now the Supreme Court will consider the...

February 26 was the most recent post on this blog. From then until today, I have had an Appellate Division oral argument, an oral argument on a dispositive motion in the Law Division, and an oral argument in the Supreme Court of New Jersey. Meanwhile, the appellate courts have not been silent. Here is a summary of some of the decisions that have been issued during that window: State v. Shaw, ___ N.J. ___ (2020). This was the Supreme Court’s only decision during this time period. It addressed whether there should be a limit on the number of times that a prosecutor can submit a case to a...

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted review in four more cases. One of those matters, State v. Lodzinski, a murder case, has received substantial publicity during its lengthy life. In that case, the question presented, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk’s office, is “Was it reversable error to remove and replace a juror who conducted outside research and was there sufficient evidence in the record to support defendant’s murder conviction?” A three-judge Appellate Division panel, in an unpublished opinion, rejected defendant’s arguments and affirmed her...