New Jersey

Verdict Stands Despite Lawyer-Foreman

A New Jersey judge has found that a lawyer and state senator who served on a jury did not improperly influence his fellow jurors, despite what he said in an article about his experiences. Sen. Robert Martin wrote for the New Jersey Law Journal last December about serving as a…

Aug 2, 2007 12:34 PM CDT

Scary Parts of Ghostwriting

While hailed by many lawyers, the practice can come back to haunt them

Aug 1, 2007 9:24 AM CDT

Condemnation Thriving in N.J., N.Y.

Forty states have passed laws to curb eminent domain powers since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June 2005 that cities may seize land for private economic development. But strong protection bills have failed to pass in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, the New York Times reports. “New Jersey…

Jul 30, 2007 4:52 PM CDT

Curbs on Condo Signs Upheld

Legal observers were taken aback last year when a New Jersey appellate court extended the state constitution’s free-speech requirements to a private homeowners’ association. Frank Askin, a law professor at Rutgers-Newark, told the ABA Journal eReport in February 2006 that the decision was the first of its kind at the…

Jul 27, 2007 4:43 PM CDT

NJ Firm Bows Head re Unadmitted Atty

In a rare sanction of a law firm that names no individual partner names, the New Jersey Supreme Court has reprimanded Newark-based Sills Cummis Epstein & Gross for allowing an associate not admitted to the state bar to work on transactional matters for seven years. There are conflicting accounts of…

Jul 27, 2007 12:03 AM CDT

Mich. Judge’s Warnings Unheeded

A Michigan judge says he tried to warn Virginia lawmakers about the dangers of high fines for motorist misdeeds, to no avail. Judge William Buhl of Van Buren County told the Washington Post he e-mailed all 140 legislators in Virginia opining that a similar Michigan program begun in 2003 was…

Jul 24, 2007 4:27 PM CDT

N.J. Justice Censured

A justice on the New Jersey Supreme Court has been censured by his colleagues for interceding with police and the courts in a delinquency case against a youth accused of bullying his son. The court said Justice Roberto Rivera-Soto’s actions created an appearance of impropriety, the New Jersey Law Journal…

Jul 23, 2007 1:43 PM CDT

N.J. Fee Arbitrations Remain Secret

The New Jersey Supreme Court has declined to adopt a rule that would let parties talk publicly about attorney fee arbitrations. The state Professional Responsibility Rules Committee had recommended that the gag be lifted, the New Jersey Law Journal reports. Under the proposal, clients who arbitrate a fee dispute with…

Jul 20, 2007 1:50 PM CDT

3rd Circuit Nominee a Surprise

One of President Bush’s four recent nominees to federal appeals courts faces an uphill battle because of concerns expressed by two Democratic home-state senators. Bush nominated Shalom Stone to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals without input from New Jersey’s senators, Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez, the New Jersey…

Jul 19, 2007 1:31 PM CDT

Panel Urges Censure for N.J. Justice

Censure is appropriate for a New Jersey Supreme Court justice who interceded in a case against a youth accused of bullying his son, according to the state’s Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct. The committee concluded in its presentment (PDF posted by Law.com) that Justice Roberto Rivera-Soto engaged in conduct prejudicial…

Jul 13, 2007 3:00 PM CDT

Suit Spurs Gov. to Quit E-mail

New Jersey’s governor won’t be using e-mail following a lawsuit seeking messages he exchanged with a state union president. Gov. Jon Corzine claims the messages are shielded by executive privilege, but he intends to avoid the possibility of future discovery disputes, the New York Times reports. “We’ll go back to…

Jul 12, 2007 1:46 PM CDT

Case Over for NJ Man Jailed 22 Years

A New Jersey man jailed for 22 years after being convicted of murdering his former girlfriend’s two children has been freed and will not face new charges after a DNA test linked another man to the crimes. A state prosecutor announced today that Byron Halsey, 46, will not be recharged…

Jul 9, 2007 9:15 PM CDT

Fearful Witnesses Protect Gangs

Police fighting gang crimes in Trenton, N.J., are stymied by witnesses who are too afraid to come forward. At least 20 people were present during a gang gunfight more than a year ago that injured an innocent bystander: 7-year-old Tajahnique Lee who was struck in the face by a bullet…

Jul 9, 2007 5:29 PM CDT

Opinion Opens Door to MDP

A New Jersey ethics opinion gives a boost to law firms that invest in outside businesses. The private opinion, made public in the July 2 edition of New Jersey Lawyer, according to the New Jersey Law Journal, says lawyers may refer clients to investment companies in which they have an…

Jul 9, 2007 2:14 PM CDT

Civil Union Law Lacks Clout

Same-sex couples who got hitched under a New Jersey civil-unions law are running into roadblocks that bar them from getting the same benefits as married couples. A survey by the gay-advocacy group Garden State Equality found that as many as one in eight couples were denied at least some of…

Jul 2, 2007 5:58 PM CDT