State v. Smith, ___ N.J. ___ (2022). Here is how Justice Solomon began his opinion for a unanimous Court in this case today: “N.J.S.A. 39:3-74 prohibits operation of a vehicle with any ‘non-transparent material’ on the front windshield or front side windows. Although the statute predates automotive window tinting, it commonly serves as the statutory basis for tinted window citations. See State v. Cohen, 347 N.J. Super. 375, 379-81 (App. Div. 2002). In this appeal, the Court considers whether a purported violation of N.J.S.A. 39:3-74 based on tinted windows justified an...

Sipko v. Koger, Inc., ___ N.J. ___ (2022). This is the second time that this intra-family business divorce case came before the Supreme Court. The first iteration, which dates back to 2013, was discussed here. Today’s decision, written by Justice Pierre-Louis for a 5-0 Supreme Court (Justice Patterson recused in this case), addressed whether a marketability discount should have been applied in valuing plaintiff’s interest in the businesses. A marketability discount, Justice Pierre-Louis explained, “reflect[s] the decreased worth of shares of stock in a closely held...

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...