State v. Faulcon, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2020). Judge Koblitz did not leave readers in suspense about the outcome of her opinion for the Appellate Division today. Her first sentence says “We hold that defense counsel who represented a State witness who was questioned in the investigation of a murder may not then represent the defendant in the same case.” The Appellate Division’s ruling today reversed a decision of the Law Division that had found that defense counsel’s former representation of the witness was not directly adverse and did not materially limit...

Last night’s meeting of the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Appellate Practice Committee featured a guest appearance by Judges Koblitz and Sumners. They took questions and shared advice about appellate practice, including what they like to see (and hear) and what they dislike. Some of that was familiar from comparable presentations by other Appellate Division judges. Other things reflected the thoughts of these particular jurists. Here are some highlights. The judges had a number of pointers about briefs. One was that “briefs should be brief.” Lengthy briefs do not...

Chief Justice Rabner has issued the general Assignment Order for 2019-2020. It is available here. As occurs every year, the eight Appellate Division Parts have been reshuffled. But some things remain the same. Judge Messano continues as Presiding Judge for Administration, and Judge Sabatino as Deputy Presiding Judge for Administration. Those two judges, as well as Judges Koblitz, Alvarez, Fisher, Yannotti, and Fuentes remain as Presiding Judges of their respective Parts. Judge Fasciale has become the Presiding Judge of Part B, a position previously held by Judge Simonelli. There are two...