48 results for 'court:"New Jersey Supreme Court"'.
J. Wainer Apter finds the appellate division properly allowed defendant, who was driving well over the speed limit and found with a blood alcohol content of 0.376% when he crashed and killed his passenger, to be retried on aggravated manslaughter and death by automobile counts. While the blood drawn was not defendant's, the other charges may be retried without violating double jeopardy laws because the mistake in using another person's blood was unintentional and does not affect the charges that don't involve the blood alcohol level. Affirmed.
Court: New Jersey Supreme Court, Judge: Wainer Apter , Filed On: August 9, 2023, Case #: A-22-22, Categories: Double Jeopardy, Vehicular Homicide
J. Patterson finds the appellate division improperly upheld the application to terminate alimony in the divorce proceedings. The parties' property settlement agreement was enacted before a new state law took effect, and the ex-husband had presented evidence of cohabitation. Reversed.
Court: New Jersey Supreme Court, Judge: Patterson, Filed On: August 8, 2023, Case #: A-25-22, Categories: Family Law
J. Rabner finds the appellate division properly reinstated the indictment for bribery of defendant, who was a mayoral candidate and allegedly accepted $10,000 in cash in a paper bag to appoint that person as the city's tax counsel. The argument that the state's anti-bribery statute does not apply to political candidates or candidates or who are not elected is precluded by the statute's no-defense provision. Further, an ordinary person would understand the statute does not allow a candidate to accept cash in a paper bag in exchange for a future appointment. Affirmed.
Court: New Jersey Supreme Court, Judge: Rabner , Filed On: August 7, 2023, Case #: A-17-22, Categories: Bribery
J. Fasciale finds the appellate division improperly affirmed the decision by the parole board that the parolee reside at the residential treatment program following his sentence for drug offenses. Such residential treatment could be completed during incarceration, and the parolee had already fully complied with the legislatively imposed process for his release. Reversed.
Court: New Jersey Supreme Court, Judge: Fasciale , Filed On: August 3, 2023, Case #: A-26-22, Categories: Parole
J. Patterson finds the appellate division properly allowed the police detective to narrate surveillance video from a nearby building showing defendant firing a gun at a police officer in an attempted murder. The narration did not need to be excluded because most of it pertained to the role of the video in the investigation of the crime scene, and the error in allowing narration of the muzzle flash was harmless because defendant admitted he was the person in the video. Affirmed.
Court: New Jersey Supreme Court, Judge: Patterson , Filed On: August 2, 2023, Case #: A-55-21, Categories: Murder, Identification
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J. Pierre-Louis finds the trial court improperly upheld the special agent's testimony and in-court identification of defendant as the perpetrator of a robbery. The special agent offered no outside evidence to support the argument that a one-mile radius applied to defendant's cell phone, which was noted to be at the location of the robbery, and the victim's in-court identification was tainted due to previous mention of defendant's name and pictures of a watch found on his cell phone. Reversed.
Court: New Jersey Supreme Court, Judge: Pierre-Louis , Filed On: August 2, 2023, Case #: A-14-22, Categories: Robbery
J. Rabner finds the appellate division improperly upheld defendant's conviction for robbing a bank. In-court identification of defendant by the bank teller months after the crime is inherently suggestive because defendant is the only one obvious to the witness and the prosecution believed him to be the culprit. Further, narration testimony included opinions on what was being viewed in the recording. Reversed.
Court: New Jersey Supreme Court, Judge: Rabner , Filed On: August 2, 2023, Case #: A-23-22, Categories: Robbery, Identification
[Consolidated.] J. Solomon finds that the appellate division properly admitted evidence regarding the marketing of pelvic mesh medical devices that allegedly caused plaintiff's injuries. Such evidence generally is inadmissible, but negligence claims in the instant action are premised on whether the manufacturer performed clinical trials or studies, which opened the door to the evidence at issue. Affirmed.
Court: New Jersey Supreme Court, Judge: Solomon , Filed On: July 25, 2023, Case #: A-21-21, Categories: Evidence, Product Liability
J. Patterson finds the appellate division properly convicted defendant of burglary after he was arrested in Pennsylvania in connection with a series of burglaries in that state. Defendant had to be brought to trial by August 2018 after he requested disposition of his New Jersey offenses in February 2018. Defendant had been "unable to stand trial" while his motions remained pending for 53 days, tolling the 180-day period and shifting the final deadline to October 2018. Jury selection began in June 2018, in advance of that deadline. Affirmed.
Court: New Jersey Supreme Court, Judge: Patterson , Filed On: July 3, 2023, Case #: A-9-22, Categories: Speedy Trial
[Consolidated.] J. Rabner finds that the appellate division improperly ruled for the state in claims seeking to compel Facebook to provide 30 days' worth of information from two user accounts in two drug cases. State wiretap statutes would apply to the communications requests, and in this case the "privacy interests at stake and the level of intrusion are substantial" since there is no limit to the content the state seeks during that time period. Reversed.
Court: New Jersey Supreme Court, Judge: Rabner , Filed On: June 29, 2023, Case #: A-7-22, Categories: Constitution, Privacy
J. Pierre-Louis finds that the appellate division improperly admitted evidence of hollow point bullets seized from defendant's trunk during a traffic stop. The officer did not have a reason to search the engine or trunk of the vehicle even though the officer smelled raw marijuana in the car during the stop after receiving a "be on the lookout" alert, as contraband had not been found in the cabin of the car. Reversed.
Court: New Jersey Supreme Court, Judge: Pierre-Louis , Filed On: June 22, 2023, Case #: A-50-21, Categories: Drug Offender, Search, Weapons
J. Solomon finds that the appellate division improperly suppressed statements defendant made to police in his trial for raping and murdering an 11-year-old girl. While police originally kept defendant in a separate room before reading him his Miranda rights, they moved defendant to an interview room and administered Miranda warnings after a witness identified him as the perpetrator. Meanwhile, defendant did not appear distressed or agitated before beginning his second interview. Reversed.
Court: New Jersey Supreme Court, Judge: Solomon , Filed On: June 21, 2023, Case #: A-16-22, Categories: Miranda, Murder
J. Patterson finds that the appellate division properly held that a media group was entitled to a redacted version of internal affairs files but properly denied the group attorney fees since common law right of access claims are not excluded from the American Rule on public records. Affirmed in part.
Court: New Jersey Supreme Court, Judge: Patterson , Filed On: June 20, 2023, Case #: A-63-21, Categories: Public Record, Attorney Fees
[Consolidated.] J. Wainer Apter finds that the appellate division properly held that trial courts should determine conditions to place on a defense medical examination on a case-by-case basis because trial courts have the ability to determine what to permit and what to forbid in such examinations, and disputes regarding third-party observation can be resolved without involving the court. Affirmed.
Court: New Jersey Supreme Court, Judge: Wainer Apter , Filed On: June 15, 2023, Case #: A-58-21, Categories: Civil Procedure, Negligence
J. Fasciale finds that the trial court properly upheld the ruling requiring the school board to notify a full-time preschool teacher that switching to a part-time position would not necessarily provide her the right to return to a full-time position. The teacher did not knowingly waive her tenured right to a full-time teaching position, and while the school did not have an explicit duty to provide notice, waiver of tenured rights must be "clear, knowing and unequivocal." Affirmed in part.
Court: New Jersey Supreme Court, Judge: Fasciale , Filed On: June 12, 2023, Case #: A-21-22, Categories: Employment
[Consolidated.] J. Fasciale finds that the appellate division improperly denied two defendants acquittal on charges accusing them of being drug kingpins. However, a third defendant was properly denied acquittal.
Court: New Jersey Supreme Court, Judge: Fasciale , Filed On: June 7, 2023, Case #: A-8-22, Categories: Drug Offender
J. Pantano finds that the appellate division properly denied a transport company judgment in claims contending a mechanic was crushed while moving industrial equipment. The record was mixed as to whether the mechanic had been a borrowed employee working for the shipping company, and both sides agreed they did not want a new jury trial. Affirmed.
Court: New Jersey Supreme Court, Judge: Sabatino , Filed On: June 5, 2023, Case #: A-19-22, Categories: Employment, Negligence
[Consolidated.] J. Sabatino finds that the appellate division improperly upheld defendants' convictions on marijuana and weapons charges based on evidence discovered when officers conducted a pat-down and searched the vehicle during a traffic stop initiated for a suspended driver's license. Prolonging the stop to wait for a drug-sniffing dog was not justified in light of the officer's uncertainty that he smelled marijuana. Reversed.
Court: New Jersey Supreme Court, Judge: Sabatino , Filed On: May 30, 2023, Case #: A-4-22, Categories: Drug Offender, Search, Weapons