L.R. v. Camden City Public School Dist., ___ N.J. ___ (2019). A relative rarity for our Supreme Court occurred in this case today: the decision of the Appellate Division was affirmed by an equally divided Court. Only six Justices sat because Justice Fernandez-Vina did not participate. As discussed here, the question presented in this appeal was “Are plaintiffs—the mother of a student with a disability and a nonprofit advocacy organization—entitled to obtain from several school districts redacted copies of settlement agreements and records reflecting the provision of special services to...

S.L.W. v. New Jersey Div. of Pensions & Benefits, ___ N.J. ___ (2019). The statute governing the police and firemen’s retirement system (“PFRS”) makes children and widowed spouses of police and firefighters who die after retirement eligible to receive survivor benefits. In this case, an adult woman with disabilities, S.L.W., sought to obtain such benefits after her father, a career law enforcement officer, died in retirement. The issue in Justice Timpone’s decision in this case today was whether S.L.W. qualified as a “child” under the statute. The...

In re Corbo, ___ N.J. ___ (2019). Justice Fernandez-Vina’s opinion for a 6-0 Supreme Court today (Justice Timpone did not participate) is unusual in that it addresses not the substantive issues involved, but the remedy imposed. The Civil Service Commission had issued a final agency decision removing Officer Corey Corbo from the Union City Police Department because he had ingested cocaine. Corbo appealed, and the Appellate Division reversed on the ground that there was “no competent evidence” to support removing Officer Corbo. But the panel did not remand the matter to allow...