In a rare decision involving judicial ethics, the Supreme Court set a new standard for evaluating the behavior of Judges in NJ. This case dealt with two specific issues: According to the NJ Supreme Court, this disciplinary case raised two questions: (1) What the appropriate standard should be to measure whether a judge’s personal behavior presents an appearance of impropriety; and, (2) Whether Respondents -- two sitting judges in Passaic County -- violated that standard by r

From the NJ Supreme Court: In Sam Hargrove, et. al. v. Sleepy’s, LLC "Plaintiffs Sam Hargrove, Andre Hall, and Marco Eusebio deliver mattresses ordered by customers from defendant Sleepy’s, LLC. Plaintiffs contend that they suffered various financial and non-financial losses as a result of defendant’s misclassification of them as independent contractors, rather than employees. Plaintiffs each signed an Independent Drive Agreement, which they assert was a ruse by defendant to

The Appellate Division released the following published opinion today: STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. JACOB R. GENTRY . In this case, Defendant Jacob R. Gentry appeals from his September 20, 2011 conviction for first-degree aggravated manslaughter and third-degree endangering an injured victim, and from the sentence of thirty years in prison subject to the No Early Release Act (NERA). In it's decision, the Court stated that they were "constrained" to reverse defendant's conviction

In State v. T.J.M., the New Jersey Supreme Court held: The Court finds no prosecutorial or trial court errors, apart from the prosecutor’s comment on the presence of certain people in front of whom victim testified, which was adequately addressed by the trial court’s appropriate and curing instruction. A copy of the Court's opinion is available here: #bergencounty #prosecutor #njre #witness #sexualabuse #nj

The Appellate Division released one published opinion this morning. The Court affirmed the denial of plaintiff mother's motion to terminate joint legal custody over their children. A copy of the Court's opinion is available here: The Court's unpublished opinions are available here: As you know, our office has extensive experience handling slip and fall cases. In the unpublished opinion ROSA NAPPI VS. TOWN OF SECAUCUS, ET AL, the court affirmed the dismissal of Plaintiff's ca

The Court released the following unpublished opinions this morning. Copies of the opinions are available here: #njcourtsappellate

The Court released one published opinion this morning: WILSON BERMUDEZ VS. KESSLER INSTITUTE FOR REHABILITATION (L-4077-12, UNION COUNTY AND STATEWIDE). The Court reversed the Law Division in a case involving claims alleging violations of the Nursing Home Responsibilities and Rights of Residents Act (Nursing Home Act), N.J.S.A. 30:13-1 to -17. Kessler appealed its motion for reconsideration as well as motion for reconsideration. The Court held: A comprehensive rehabilitati

In State v. K.S. , The NJ Supreme Court considered, principally, whether it was proper for the Somerset County Prosecutor to rely upon adult criminal charges that had been dismissed and juvenile charges that had been diverted and dismissed in rejecting defendant’s application for admission into the Pretrial Intervention Program (PTI). The Court held: Because the record includes no admissions of conduct to support the truth of the allegations in defendant’s dismissed adult cha

In a published opinion released this morning, the Court upheld the sentence against a former Newark Police officer, Hugo Fierro. Officer Fierro appealed his conviction by a jury for simple and aggravated assault and for official misconduct. On April 29, 2013, the court sentenced defendant to five years imprisonment without parole. A copy of the Court' s opinion is available here: The Court released the following unpublished opinions: #essexnewarkpoliceassaultcrimeappellaten

The N.J. Prescription Drug Retail Price Registry is a useful website to help consumers compare the retail prices charged by many pharmacies for the 150 most-frequently prescribed prescription drugs. You can acccess the registry here: #pharmacydrugsnjprescription