The First Two Supreme Court Grants of Review of the New Term

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted certification in two cases. These are the first grants (Nos. A-1 and A-2) of the current Term.

The first appeal is Garden State Check Cashing Service, Inc. v. New Jersey Dep’t of Banking & Insurance. The question presented there, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk’s Office, is “Under the circumstances presented, was New Loan Co., Wm. S. Rich & Son, Inc. exempt from the statute prohibiting a check cashing business from locating within 2,500 feet of another, N.J.S.A. 17:15A-41(e), by operation of the statute’s “Grandfather Clause,” N.J.S.A. 17:15A-50(a)?” The appeal arises from an unpublished, per curiam ruling by a two-judge Appellate Division panel involving the grant of licenses to New Loan Co. Wm. S. Rich & Son, Inc. at three locations: Irvington, Newark, and Union. The panel affirmed the licenses as to the Newark and Union locations, but reversed as to Irvington.

The second matter is a criminal appeal, State v. Hyman, where the question presented is “Did the officer’s affidavit establish probable cause to issue a search warrant for defendant’s home, where the affidavit did not include a reference to criminal activity conducted at or near defendant’s residence?” The Law Division denied defendant’s motion to suppress evidence, but a two-judge panel of the Appellate Division reversed in an unpublished opinion. Now the Supreme Court will decide the issue.

Two Criminal Appeals and Two Eminent Domain Cases for the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted review in four new cases. Two of them are criminal matters. The other two involve eminent domain issues. One of the criminal appeals is before the Court on leave to appeal, the second grant of leave to appeal in the current Term. The Court granted certification in the other three matters....

Appellate Division Oral Argument of the Week: Can the Borough of Caldwell Recoup Payment for Professional Services That it Previously Made?

Tomorrow, September 11, a panel of judges on the Appellate Division's Part B will hear oral argument in Borough of Caldwell v. Cozzarelli-Cirminiello Architects, LLC. The case is before the Appellate Division following the grant of defendant's motion for leave to appeal the denial of its motion to dismiss the Complaint....

The First Published Appellate Division Opinion of the 2025-26 Term

Alcantara v. Moro, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2025). Judge Smith authored this opinion for the Appellate Division, that court's first published opinion of the new Term. The appeal was from a final decision of the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Education that the School Funding Reform Act, N.J.S.A. 8A:7F-43 et seq. ("SFRA"), was constitutional as applied to the Township of Lakewood....

The First Supreme Court Grant of Review in the 2025-26 Term

The Supreme Court announced that it has granted leave to appeal in State v. Caneiro, a quadruple homicide case. The question presented, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk's office, is "Under the circumstances presented, where defendant's house was on fire, was the warrantless seizure of evidence from the garage justified under the exigent circumstances exception to the warrant requirement?"...