In State v. Mark Jackson; State v. Jamie Monroe (A-18/19-19/083286) (Decided April 1, 2020), the Supreme Court of New Jersey affirmed an Appellate Division decision holding that prosecutors may subpoena inmates’ recorded telephone conversations. Facts of State v. Jackson; State v. Monroe Defendant Mark Jackson was arrested after his mother
In Kornbleuth v. Westover, (A-71-18/081898) (Decided March 11, 2020), the Supreme Court of New Jersey held property owners who filed a lawsuit against their neighbors over the destruction of bamboo “fence” were required to show their property value was diminished as a result. Facts of Kornbleuth v. Westover Plaintiffs Joseph
The New Jersey Supreme Court recently gave the green light to a funeral director who filed a suit under the state’s Law Against Discrimination (LAD) alleging that he was terminated for legally using medical marijuana. According to the court’s decision in Wild v. Carriage Funeral Holdings, Inc., (A-91-18/082836) (Decided March
The Division of Local Government Services (DLGS) recently issued a Local Finance Notice regarding the need for emergency procurement in light of the Coronavirus outbreak. The guidance, LFN 2020-06, also addresses public bidding concerns and the use of storm recovery reserves. Emergency Procurement As highlighted by the DLGS, the COVID-19 public health
On March 20, 2020 Gov. Phil Murphy took action on several bills aimed to help New Jersey municipalities address the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. He also issued several Executive Orders impacting public entities. Below is a brief summary: Mail-in Ballots (A-3095/S-1982): The legislation addresses concerns from county clerks regarding sufficient time to prepare mail-in
There are limits on how many times prosecutors can submit a case to a grand jury after a prior grand jury declines to indict, according to the Supreme Court of New Jersey. In State v. Jerome Shaw, Jr. (A-59-18/081652) (Decided March 4, 2020), the state’s highest court held that if
In State v. Donna M. Alessi (A-41/42-17/079255) (Decided January 27, 2020), the New Jersey Supreme Court confirmed that the police may not pull over a driver for questioning in furtherance of an investigation without reasonable suspicion that she committed a crime or traffic violation. As the court explained, “A law
In Felix v. Richards, (A-27-18/081799) (Decided February 26, 2020), the Supreme Court of New Jersey held that the creation of the basic automobile insurance policy option, without bodily injury liability coverage, did not modify the state’s deemer statute (N.J.S.A. 17:28-1.4). The divided court further rejected the Government Employee Insurance Company’s (GEICO)
