New Jersey Attorney Law Review Blog

  Argues Chief Justice did not have power to fill vacant seat In an unprecedented move that jolted New Jersey's legal community, on December 10, 2010 New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Roberto A. Rivera-Soto announced that he will abstain from the New Jersey Supreme Court's decisions claiming that the Court's Chief Justice, the Honorable Stuart Rabner, did not have the constitutional power to appoint a temporary justice (appeals court Justice Edwin Stern) to temporarily fill a vacant seat on the seven-member Court.  The dispute stems from a controversy that has been boiling since May 2010 when Republican New Jersey Governor Christie refused to renominate Democratic-appointed Justice John Wallace to the Court and, instead, nominated Anne Patterson, a Morristown attorney and a Republican. Democratic legislative leaders charged that Governer Christie's action was unparalleled and Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney (D-Gloucester) declared the upper house

The following appeals were recently added to the docket of the New Jersey Supreme Court.   We will report the outcome of these decisions when the the Court publishes their opinions, which could take 4 to 6 months or more. A-34-10 O Builders & Associates, Inc. v. Yuna Corp. of NJ d/b/a Baden Baden Restaurant (066490) Did the prior consultation between the defendant and plaintiff’s attorney create a conflict that required the attorney to be disqualified from representing plaintiff in this litigation? Certification granted 10/28/10 A-27-10  Peter Risko v. Thompson Muller Automotive Group t/a Hammonton Chrysler Jeep Dodge (066502) In this wrongful death case arising from a slip-and-fall, did the cumulative effect of plaintiff’s attorney’s comments during summation, including telling the jury that they would be “ignoring the law” if they had an issue with “a million dollar case,” violate the prohibition against suggesting a verdict? Leave to appeal granted 10/2