The Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued a significant decision involving public school students’ free speech rights and clarified how existing precedent will be applied to social media. In B.L. v. Mahanoy Area School District, the appeals court unanimously held that the First Amendment prohibits disciplining public school students
In State v. Robert Andrews, (A-72-18/082209) (Decided August 10, 2020), the New Jersey Supreme Court held that a defendant can be compelled to disclose a cellphone password. According to the four-member majority, requiring defendants to unlock their phones does not violate the Self- Incrimination Clause of the Fifth Amendment to
New Jersey’s highest court has signed off on the state’s plan to borrow $9.9 billion to address COVID-19-related revenue losses. The New Jersey Supreme Court held in New Jersey Republican State Committee v. Philip D. Murphy (A-82-19/084731) (Decided August 12, 2020) that the State’s plan to issue bonds and borrow
In Carol Crispino v. Township of Sparta (A-16-19/083171) (Decided July 22, 2020), the Supreme Court of New Jersey struck a municipal resolution imposing a special assessment to fund a private dam restoration project. According to the court, the Township arbitrarily applied the special assessment to plaintiffs’ properties because the expert
In Sun Chemical Corporation v. Fike Corporation, (A-89-18/082815) (July 29, 2020),the New Jersey Supreme Court held that a Consumer Fraud Act (CFA) claim can be filed concurrently with a Product Liability Act (PLA) claim in the same complaint. “PLA and CFA claims may proceed in separate counts of the same
In Arafa v. Health Express Corp., (A-6-19-/083174) (July 14, 2020),the Supreme Court of New Jersey held that that arbitration agreements can be enforceable under the New Jersey Arbitration Act (NJAA), even if those agreements would be otherwise exempt from arbitration under Section 1 of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). In
In Christian Mission John 3:16 v. Passaic City, (A-33-19/083487) (Decided July 15, 2020), the Supreme Court of New Jersey held that a Passaic church was entitled to a property tax exemption, even though it had not yet received a certificate of occupancy. “The issuance of a certificate of occupancy, temporary or
In Bryheim Jamar Baskin v. Rafael Martinez, (A-70-18/081982) (Decided July 9, 2020), the Supreme Court of New Jersey held that a Camden police officer is not entitled to qualified immunity on summary judgment. According to the court, the issue of whether Detective Martínez’s use of deadly force was objectively reasonable
