State v. Lodzinski, 249 N.J. 116 (2021). Today, the Supreme Court voted 4-3 to reverse the murder conviction of Michelle Lodzinski. Previously, as discussed here, the Court had split 3-3 (Chief Justice Rabner did not participate), with the result that the Appellate Division’s affirmance of the conviction was upheld. The Court then voted to grant reconsideration and to bring up Judge Fuentes, the senior judge of the Appellate Division, to provide a seventh vote, as discussed here. The lineup of the Justices today was the same as in those previous appearances of this case before the...

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in four new matters. Two of the cases are civil appeals and two are criminal matters. In East Bay Drywall, LLC v. Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the question presented, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk’s office, is “For purposes of liability for contributions to the state unemployment and temporary disability compensation fund, are the company’s service providers employees or independent contractors under the ABC Test, N.J.S.A. 43:21-19(i)(6)(A) to (C)?” In an opinion reported at 467 N.J....

The Supreme Court announced its first group of new cases for this Term. Of the three cases, each came to the Court by a different route. A-1-21, State v. Ramirez, is before the Court on leave to appeal. The question presented, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk’s office, is “Is defense counsel entitled to the victim’s home address as part of discovery in this criminal prosecution?” The Law Division adopted a position that allowed defense counsel and his investigator(s) access to the victim’s address, but a three-judge panel of the Appellate Division, on leave to...