Sorry, you need to enable JavaScript to visit this website.

Track Appeals

This page provides summaries of Supreme Court appeals, along with certain procedural information, due dates, and publicly filed briefs.  The most recent cases are listed first.  You can also use the search tool to find a specific case.

APPEALS ADDED IN THE NEW JERSEY SUPREME COURT LISTED NEWEST TO OLDEST

Summaries for Informational Purposes Only: The following statements of issues on appeal are prepared by the Office of the Clerk for the convenience of the reader. They have been neither reviewed nor approved by the Supreme Court. Please note that, in the interest of brevity, some issues may not have been summarized.

Party Briefing and Case Documents: Briefing on appeals before the Supreme Court is governed by Court Rule. The Court’s order taking the appeal typically will include the due dates for the parties’ merits briefs and for amicus motions and briefs. The order is included in the “Case Document(s)” for each appeal. If the appeal is not sealed, the parties’ briefs also will be included in the “Case Document(s).”

Amicus Motions: Beginning on Feb. 10, 2026, motions for leave to appear as amicus curiae and proposed amicus briefs in Supreme Court appeals are due ten (10) days after the respondent files its merits brief, and motions to extend or relax the time for filing an amicus motion and brief will not be accepted. See R. 1:13-9(e).

A-31-12 State v. Cesar A. Lipa (071011)

Did the trial court appropriately apply the standards of State v. Slater, 198 N.J. 20145 (2009), in deciding defendant's pre-sentence motion to withdraw his guilty plea?



Certification granted
Posted
Argued
Decided
Watch the 
  • Certification granted : Nov. 30, 2012
  • Posted: Dec. 6, 2012
  • Argued: Feb. 3, 2014
  • Decided: Sept. 25, 2014

A-30-12 State v. Roger Paul Frye (070975)

May defendant's two prior convictions for driving while intoxicated be counted to sentence him as a third-time offender for a conviction of refusal to submit to a chemical breath test under N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.4a; and should defendant have been permitted to withdraw his guilty plea to refusal under the circumstances of this case?



Certification granted
Posted
Argued
Decided
Watch the 
  • Certification granted : Nov. 16, 2012
  • Posted: Nov. 16, 2012
  • Argued: Feb. 3, 2014
  • Decided: June 3, 2014

A-29-12 Isabel Nichols v. Board of Trustees, Public Employees' Retirement System (071285)

For purposes of an application for accidental disability retirement benefits under N.J.S.A. 43:15A-43, did the employee's fall on an ice-covered entrance into the workplace approximately one-half hour before her designated start time occur "during" and as a result of the performance" of her "regular and assigned duties"?



Certification granted
Posted
Argued
Dismissed as improvidently granted
Watch the 
  • Certification granted : Nov. 16, 2012
  • Posted: Nov. 16, 2012
  • Argued: Nov. 4, 2013
  • Dismissed as improvidently granted : Nov. 13, 2013

A-28-12 State of New Jersey, in the Interest of K.O., a Minor (070406)

Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2A:4A-44 (d)(3), which permits imposing an extended term sentence on a "juvenile who was adjudged delinquent on two separate occasions" for second-degree offenses, may the current delinquency adjudication be counted as one of the two requisite adjudications?



Certification granted
Posted
Argued
Decided
Watch the 
  • Certification granted : Nov. 9, 2012
  • Posted: Nov. 13, 2012
  • Argued: Sept. 23, 2013
  • Decided: Feb. 24, 2014

A-27-12 State v. David M. Gibson (070910)

Under the circumstances of this case, was there probable cause to arrest defendant for defiant trespass and was defendant properly subject to a subsequent search at the police station?



Certification granted
Posted
Argued
Decided
Watch the 
  • Certification granted : Nov. 9, 2012
  • Posted: Nov. 13, 2012
  • Argued: Oct. 8, 2013
  • Decided: Jan. 7, 2014

A-26-12 Nowell James v. New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Co. (071344)

Does N.J.S.A. 17:28-1.1(f), which amended the statute on uninsured and underinsured motorists to prohibit use of "step-down" provisions to reduce coverage available to an insured's employees, apply retroactively to claims arising out of accidents that occurred and policies in existence prior to the effective date of the amendment; and if so, should the doctrine of manifest injustice be applied to bar retroactive application in this case?



Certification granted
Posted
Argued
Decided
Watch the 
  • Certification granted : Nov. 9, 2012
  • Posted: Nov. 13, 2012
  • Argued: Oct. 7, 2013
  • Decided: Feb. 3, 2014

A-25-12 Estate of Stanley Kosakowski v. Director, New Jersey Division of Taxation (071319)

Does the doctrine manifest injustice bar the retroactive application of amendments to the estate tax statute, N.J.S.A. 54:38-1, under the circumstances of this case?



Certification granted
Posted
Argued
Order dismissed as improvidently granted
Watch the 
  • Certification granted : Nov. 9, 2012
  • Posted: Nov. 13, 2012
  • Argued: Sept. 24, 2013
  • Order dismissed as improvidently granted : Oct. 2, 2013

A-22/23/24-12 Wayne Davis v. Brickman Landscaping, Ltd (071310)

What is the standard of care for determining whether defendants negligently inspected a hotel's fire sprinkler system; and was the opinion of plaintiff's expert regarding that standard of care an impermissible net opinion?



Certification granted
Posted
Argued
Decided
Watch the 
  • Certification granted : Nov. 9, 2012
  • Posted: Nov. 13, 2012
  • Argued: March 4, 2014
  • Decided: Sept. 15, 2014

A-21-12 State v. Sean Bell (070736)

May a defendant apply for admission into the pretrial intervention program after being tried and found guilty of only a third-degree offense?



Certification granted
Posted
Argued
Decided
Watch the 
  • Certification granted : Nov. 5, 2012
  • Posted: Nov. 7, 2012
  • Argued: Sept. 23, 2013
  • Decided: May 13, 2014

A-20-12 State v. James W. Robinson (070556)

May a criminal defendant be sentenced to two extended term sentences, one mandatory and one discretionary, consistent with the prohibition against multiple extended terms, N.J.S.A. 2C:44-5a(2), and State v. Pennington, 154 N.J. 344 (1998)?



Certification granted
Posted
Argued
Decided
Watch the 
  • Certification granted : Nov. 5, 2012
  • Posted: Nov. 7, 2012
  • Argued: Sept. 9, 2013
  • Decided: June 5, 2014

A-19-12 State v. Terry Cornelius Jones (070733)

Was defendant entitled to an evidentiary hearing on his petition for post-conviction relief on his ineffective assistance of counsel claim?



Certification granted
Posted
Argued
Decided
Watch the 
  • Certification granted : Oct. 25, 2012
  • Posted: Nov. 1, 2012
  • Argued: Oct. 21, 2013
  • Decided: Sept. 23, 2014

A-18-12 State v. Reinaldo Fuentes (070729)

Did the trial court err in finding and weighing the aggravating factors in imposing defendant's sentence?



Certification granted
Posted
Argued
Decided
Watch the 
  • Certification granted : Oct. 25, 2012
  • Posted: Nov. 1, 2012
  • Argued: Sept. 9, 2013
  • Decided: Jan. 7, 2014

A-17-12 Manahawkin Convalescent v. Frances O'Neill (071033)

Does the "learned professional" exception preclude application of the Consumer Fraud Act, N.J.S.A. 56:8-1 to -20, to a nursing home?



Certification granted
Posted
Argued
Decided
Watch the 
  • Certification granted : Oct. 25, 2012
  • Posted: Nov. 1, 2012
  • Argued: Oct. 22, 2013
  • Decided: March 11, 2014

A-16-12 Martin O'Boyle v. Borough of Longport (070999)

Are the documents requested from the Borough protected from access under the Open Public Records Act because they are protected by the attorney work-product privilege and common interest doctrine?



Certification granted
Posted
Argued
Decided
Watch the 
  • Certification granted : Oct. 25, 2012
  • Posted: Nov. 1, 2012
  • Argued: Nov. 18, 2013
  • Decided: July 21, 2014

A-15-12 State v. Byseem T. Coles (070653)

Did defendant's aunt have the authority to consent to a search of defendant's bedroom in her home, for which defendant was paying rent; and did the failure of the police to ask defendant, who was in custody nearby, for his consent, render the ensuing search unlawful and the seized evidence subject to suppression?



Certification granted
Posted
Argued
Decided
Watch the 
  • Certification granted : Oct. 25, 2012
  • Posted: Nov. 1, 2012
  • Argued: Oct. 22, 2013
  • Decided: May 19, 2014

A-14-12 In re Plan for the Abolition of the Council on Affordable Housing (also see A-127-11) (070426)

Did the appellant demonstrate that the State intentionally disregarded the March 8, 2012 judgment of the Appellate Division (which is now on appeal to the Supreme Court as A-127-11), thereby warranting the granting of relief in aid of litigant's rights pursuant to Rule 1:10-3?



Appeal as of right (Appellate Division dissent)
Posted
Argued
Decided
Watch the 
  • Appeal as of right (Appellate Division dissent) : Oct. 16, 2012
  • Posted: Oct. 16, 2012
  • Argued: Jan. 28, 2013
  • Decided: July 10, 2013

A-13-12 Judy Komlodi v. Ann Picciano (071301)

Under the circumstances of this case, did the trial court err in instructing the jury to consider whether the patient's drug addiction and alcohol abuse were pre-existing conditions that proximately caused the injuries she suffered when she orally ingested pain medication contained in patches prescribed for external application to the skin?



Appeal as of right (Appellate Division dissent)
Posted
Argued
Decided
Watch the 
  • Appeal as of right (Appellate Division dissent) : Oct. 16, 2012
  • Posted: Oct. 16, 2012
  • Argued: Oct. 7, 2013
  • Decided: May 20, 2014

A-11-12 In the Matter of the Commitment of J.B. (070469)

Where defendant was found not guilty by reason of insanity and was institutionally confined under State v. Krol, 68 N.J. 236 (1975), and the initial trial judge orally provided for a max-out date on the record but did not include such a date in the commitment order, did the Appellate Division err in affirming a subsequent trial judge's order that provide for a different max-out date?



Certification granted
Posted
Argued
Order dismissed as improvidently granted
Watch the 
  • Certification granted : Oct. 12, 2012
  • Posted: Oct. 16, 2012
  • Argued: May 13, 2013
  • Order dismissed as improvidently granted : June 3, 2013

A-10-12 In the Matter of the Civil Commitment of R.F. SVP 490-08 (070552)

In this State action seeking the civil commitment under the Sexually Violent Predator Act, N.J.S.A. 30:4-27.24 to -27.38, did the Appellate Division err in concluding the trial court abused its discretion in determining the State had not met its burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that R.F. suffers from a psychiatric condition that renders him likely to commit a sexually violent act?



Certification granted
Posted
Argued
Decided
Watch the 
  • Certification granted : Oct. 12, 2012
  • Posted: Oct. 16, 2012
  • Argued: Sept. 9, 2013
  • Decided: March 19, 2014

A-8-12 State v. Kelvin Williams (071306)

Do the circumstances of this case, including defendant's statement that he had a bomb and the fact that his hooded sweatshirt could have concealed a bomb, support a finding of armed robbery by simulation or did the trial court err in denying the motion for acquittal?



Certification granted
Posted
Argued
Decided
Watch the 
  • Certification granted : Sept. 25, 2012
  • Posted: Sept. 26, 2012
  • Argued: Oct. 8, 2013
  • Decided: Aug. 11, 2014