Court Opinions

Court decisions are called opinions.

The NJCourts website includes both "published" and "unpublished" opinions.

Published opinions set legal precedent. They can be used to support legal arguments in future New Jersey court cases. Unpublished opinions do not set legal precedent. They usually are not cited in other court cases.

All Supreme Court opinions are published. They can be found in the New Jersey Reports.

Opinions of the Supreme Court and the Appellate Division of Superior Court are posted on the website at 10 a.m. on business days. The list of opinions expected on the following business day also is posted at 10 a.m. At times, the Supreme Court will release an opinion later in the day.

Staff in the Civil Practice Unit choose which business opinions hold special relevance for the business community.

Rutgers Law School hosts a searchable database of New Jersey Supreme Court and Appellate Court reported opinions dating from March 1994 to the present. The website also hosts opinions of the Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics, Committee on the Unauthorized Practice of Law, and the Committee on Attorney Advertising.