The last few days have seen three opinions by the Supreme Court in criminal appeals. Here are summaries of those decisions: State v. Rivas, ___ N.J. ___ (2022). This opinion by Justice Albin today, for a unanimous Court, reversed the decisions of the Law Division and the Appellate Division that had denied defendant’s motion to suppress his confession. In a fact-intensive decision, the Court applied the principle of Edwards v. Arizona, 451 U.S. 477 (1981), that if “an accused has invoked his right to have counsel present during custodial interrogation,” questioning must cease and...

Mac Property Group, LLC v. Selective Fire & Cas. Ins. Co. , ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2022). [Disclosure: I am counsel for insureds in another appeal regarding the issue of insurance coverage for business interruptions caused by COVID-19, though on different alleged facts and with different policy language]. As Judge Sumners noted at the start of his opinion for the Appellate Division in the six back-to-back appeals in this case, those cases present “an issue of first impression––whether in the context of Rule 4:6-2(e) motions to dismiss with prejudice, insurance policies...

The last several days have seen some interesting published opinions by the Appellate Division. Here are summaries of three of them: Petro v. Platkin, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2022). This opinion by Judge Natali, which applied de novo review, affirmed a Law Division ruling that dismissed plaintiffs’ attempt to enjoin and invalidate the Medical Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act, N.J.S.A. 26:16-1 to -20 (“the Act”). The Appellate Division agreed with the Law Division that, despite New Jersey’s relatively liberal standing rules, none of the plaintiffs had...