In Mollica v. Township of Bloomfield, the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court invalidated a township ordinance adopted to acquire land to build a public park. Citing the New Jersey Supreme Court’s decision in Grabowsky v. Township of Montclair, the Appellate Division held that a council member’s ownership
The Supreme Court of New Jersey recently struck down a municipal ban of digital billboards. In its decision in E&J Equities v. Board of Adjustment of Franklin Township, the state’s highest court held that the ordinance was unconstitutional under both the United States and New Jersey constitutions. The Facts of
The U.S. Supreme Court’s October 2016 Term will be most remembered for the vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. While the Court was shorthanded, it did reach decisions in several cases impacting local governments. This post offers a brief review of several key public law decisions: Heffernan
A divided New Jersey appeals court recently held that the public has the right to access recordings from the mobile video recorders (MVRs) in police vehicles under the Open Public Records Act (OPRA). However, it is likely that the Supreme Court of New Jersey will have the final word on
In a win for municipalities, the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court held that municipal affordable housing obligations do not include a “separate and discrete” gap-period obligation. In reaching its decision, the appeals court cited the core principles of the Mount Laurel doctrine and the plain language of
The Supreme Court of New Jersey recently upheld the cost of living adjustments (COLA) freeze implemented by the Christie Administration under a 2011 pension reform law. In reaching its decision in Richard W. Berg v. Hon. Christopher J. Christie, the state’s highest court rejected arguments that the COLA adjustments were just
The Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court recently addressed when public employers can be held liable under the New Jersey Employer-Employee Relations Act, which prohibits the discharge of employees for union activity. In its decision, the court confirmed broad remedial authority of the Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC)
The Supreme Court of New Jersey has agreed to consider how to apply the state’s Open Public Records Act (OPRA) to security camera footage. The case, Patricia Gilleran v. Township of Bloomfield, specifically involves whether a municipality must publicly disclose security video footage captured by a stationary camera in a
