As discussed here, last year the Appellate Division addressed the “unsettled” question of which should come first in a criminal case involving a juvenile sought to be tried as an adult: a suppression motion in the Family Part or a waiver to the Criminal Part? The Appellate Division declined to adopt a bright line rule, instead observing that trial judges have substantial discretion in setting their calendars, and that the order in which to proceed is a “discretionary, highly contextual decision” dependent on the particular circumstances. The court stated, however,...

As usually occurs with the current Term nearing its end, the Supreme Court and the Appellate Division have issued relatively few opinions in the second half of August. Here are summaries of those opinions (in addition to this one, which I argued for the successful plaintiffs): Rivera v. The Valley Hospital, Inc., ___ N.J. ___ (2022). The issue in this case, which was before the Supreme Court on leave to appeal, was whether plaintiffs’ evidence in support of punitive damages was sufficient to defeat a defense motion to dismiss the punitive damages claim. As Justice Pierre-Louis noted in...

The Supreme Court has been functioning for months with four Justices, plus Judge Fuentes on temporary assignment. Judge Fuentes is due to retire on September 1. At that time, the Court will lack a quorum, as Article VI, section 2, paragraph 1 provides that five members of the Court shall constitute a quorum. As a result, Chief Justice Rabner today issued an order temporarily assigning Judges Fisher, Sabatino, and Fasciale to the Supreme Court, effective September 1. (Judge Messano, the Chief Judge of the Appellate Division, waived this temporary assignment, according to the order). That...