The power outage resulting from last week’s storm put a crimp in much of that week. So it is time once again to catch up with our Supreme Court and Appellate Division, each of whom took highly consequential actions during that time. Some of those are summarized below. State v. G.E.P., ___ N.J. ___ (2020). This case (actually, four consolidated cases) addressed whether and to what extent the Court’s decision in State v. J.L.G., 234 N.J. 265 (2018), should apply retroactively. In J.L.G., the Court “reassessed” its prior decision in State v. J.Q., 130 N.J. 554 (1993),...

Chief Justice Rabner has issued the General Assignment Order for 2020-21, which is available here. Judge Ostrer has replaced Judge Koblitz, who will be retiring, as Presiding Judge of Part C. The other Presiding Judges, who include Judges Sabatino, Fasciale, Alvarez, Messano, Fisher, Yannotti, and Fuentes, remain in place. Judge Messano continues as Presiding Judge for Administration, as does Judge Sabatino as Deputy Presiding Judge for Administration. The eight panels have been rejiggered, as is the case every year. Parts E and F list “TEMPORARY ASSIGNEE” as their fourth member....

State v. Jackson, ___ N.J. ___ (2020). In a per curiam opinion, the Supreme Court today affirmed the ruling of the Appellate Division in this case (actually, two consolidated cases), reported at 460 N.J. Super. 258 (App. Div. 2019). The Court substantially adopted the reasoning of Judge Alvarez, who wrote the panel’s opinion. The two inmates were held in different facilities. Each facility had a written policy, which was provided to inmates, that inmate telephone calls (other than those to legal counsel or Internal Affairs) would be monitored and recorded. For different reasons in each...