The “State Legislative Impact” and “State Regulatory Impact” features from Potomac Publishing Company are no longer found on LexisNexis. Pending bills amending a statutory section can be found by Shepardizing that section. Proposed amendments of an N.J.A.C. section can be found by searching the N.J.Register for the section number.
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Bill on ALJ opinions progresses
The bill A2722 was reported by a Senate committee on March 10th; the committee amended the bill to allow a party to a case to request a written opinion.
Bill affecting ALJ opinions
As noted in this Monday’s New Jersey Law Journal, 203 N.J.L.J. 590 (Feb.28,2011),
Assembly Bill 2722 [First Reprint] (passed by the Assembly Feb.17th) would authorize certain Administrative Law Judge decisions to be made either without written opinion or with a decision in the form of a checklist, and would also eliminate the power of several agencies to reject or modify ALJ decisions.
The bill would amend N.J.S.A. 52:14B-10 by adding this language in subsection (c):
Unless the head of the agency requests that the recommended report and decision be filed in writing, the recommended report and decision of the administrative law judge may be filed orally in such appropriate cases as prescribed by the director and if a transcript has been requested pursuant to subsection (e) of section 9 of P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-9). ….
An administrative law judge may file a recommended report and decision in the form of a checklist in such appropriate cases and formats as prescribed by the director after consultation with each State agency.
and would add a subsection (g) reading in part as follows:
With regard to contested cases commenced with an agency on or after the effective date of … this bill…. that are described in this subsection1, the report and decision of the administrative law judge shall be the final decision upon the filing thereof with the agency, notwithstanding any other provision of State law to the contrary. In such contested cases, the head of the agency shall not have the opportunity to reject or modify the administrative law judge’s report and decision pursuant to subsection (c) of this section and the final decision by the administrative law judge shall comply with the requirements of and shall be given the same effect as a final decision of the head of the agency … This subsection shall apply to any contested case from:
- (1) the Department of Community Affairs;
- (2) the Department of Education;
- (3) the Department of Environmental Protection;
- (4) the Department of Children and Families involving placement on a child abuse registry;
- (5) the Department of Health and Senior Services involving placement on the nurse aid registry, and penalty matters;
- (6) the Division of Family Development in the Department of Human Services;
- (7) the Division of Civil Rights in the Department of Law and Public Safety;
- (8) the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission;
- (9) the Civil Service Commission; and
- (10) the Department of Law and Public Safety under P.L.1988, c.123 (C.56:12-29 et seq.).[the lemon law]
Under another added subsection (f), other agency heads could order that in certain categories of cases the ALJ decision would be final.
Public Web Access to Civil Dockets
The Automated Case Management System — Public Access (ACMS-PA) containing docket information on New Jersey civil cases, is now available via the Judiciary’s web site. On the Judiciary homepage, follow the link “Civil Case Public Access” under “Online Resources” in the left-hand menu. Internet Explorer must be used.
Judiciary Website – new look is here!
The New Jersey Judiciary revealed their new look today at http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/. The new site has a cleaner look and the same great content as the old site.
If only the courthouse library system got the support that the website does – the people of New Jersey deserve public law libraries.
Judiciary site – new look for home page
The new design for the N.J. Judiciary home page is up for preview at
http://wwwtest.judiciary.state.nj.us/.
N.J.Register 1969-1995 online at State Library
The New Jersey State library has made available in PDF
the New Jersey Register from volume 1 (1969) through
Volume 27 Number 12 (June 1995). The URL is
http://www.njstatelib.org/Research_Guides/Law/new_jersey_register.php.
Three citators: a brief test
From results of a search in Westlaw’s NJ-CS for the phrase “we disapprove,” I compiled a list of 30 New Jersey cases that had each been at least partly disapproved by a later case. I then checked those 30 cases in Shepard’s (on Lexis), KeyCite (on Westlaw), and BCite (on Bloomberg Law).
Shepard’s flagged the negative treatment for 29 out of the 30 cases (calling it “overruled” except for 2 cases that were marked as “criticized”). The one other case was Cureton v. Eley, 294 N.J.Super.321 (Law Div. 1996), which Shepard’s marked just as “cited by” the later case Jimenez v. Baglieri, 295 N.J.Super. 162 (App. Div. 1996) — though Shepard’s did note that Cureton was “among conflicting authorities noted in” Jacques v. Kinsey, 347 N.J. Super. 112 (Law Div.2001).
KeyCite red-flagged 27 out of the 30 cases — 26 of them as “disapproved,” one as “disagreed with” — and yellow-flagged two cases as “distinguished”. For the case D.Y.F.S. v. R.G., 397 N.J.Super. 439 (App.Div.2008), KeyCite treated it as merely “cited” by the later case D.Y.F.S. v. G.M., 198 N.J. 382, 405 (2008), but did red-flag it because the overruling by the G.M. case was recognized by D.Y.F.S. v. N.S., 412 N.J.Super. 593 (App.Div. 2010).
BCite gave a red negative symbol on only 6 out of the 30 cases, a yellow caution symbol on 3 other cases, and a blue distinguished symbol on 3 others. On 18 out of the 30 cases, BCite indicated positive treatment (“discussed”) by the specific later case, and BCite’s “composite analysis” was “positive” for 16 of the
30 cases. On the case D.Y.F.S. v. R.G. 397 N.J. Super. 439, BCite did analyze it as negative because of D.Y.F.S. v. N.S. which recognized the prior overruling, but BCite did not include the overruling case D.Y.F.S. v. G.M. at all as a citing case. On State v. Williams, 381 N.J.Super. 572 (App.Div. 2005), although BCite’s composite analysis was negative, its specific analysis of each of the 3 citing cases was positive.
Three citators: a brief test
From results of a search in Westlaw’s NJ-CS for the phrase “we disapprove,” I compiled a list of 30 New Jersey cases that had each been at least partly disapproved by a later case. I then checked those 30 cases in Shepard’s (on Lexis), KeyCite (on Westlaw), and BCite (on Bloomberg Law).
Shepard’s flagged the negative treatment for 29 out of the 30 cases (calling it “overruled” except for 2 cases that were marked as “criticized”). The one other case was Cureton v. Eley, 294 N.J.Super.321 (Law Div. 1996), which Shepard’s marked just as “cited by” the later case Jimenez v. Baglieri, 295 N.J.Super. 162 (App. Div. 1996) — though Shepard’s did note that Cureton was “among conflicting authorities noted in” Jacques v. Kinsey, 347 N.J. Super. 112 (Law Div.2001).
KeyCite red-flagged 27 out of the 30 cases — 26 of them as “disapproved,” one as “disagreed with” — and yellow-flagged two cases as “distinguished”. For the case D.Y.F.S. v. R.G., 397 N.J.Super. 439 (App.Div.2008), KeyCite treated it as merely “cited” by the later case D.Y.F.S. v. G.M., 198 N.J. 382, 405 (2008), but did red-flag it because the overruling by the G.M. case was recognized by D.Y.F.S. v. N.S., 412 N.J.Super. 593 (App.Div. 2010).
BCite gave a red negative symbol on only 6 out of the 30 cases, a yellow caution symbol on 3 other cases, and a blue distinguished symbol on 3 others. On 18 out of the 30 cases, BCite indicated positive treatment (“discussed”) by the specific later case, and BCite’s “composite analysis” was “positive” for 16 of the
30 cases. On the case D.Y.F.S. v. R.G. 397 N.J. Super. 439, BCite did analyze it as negative because of D.Y.F.S. v. N.S. which recognized the prior overruling, but BCite did not include the overruling case D.Y.F.S. v. G.M. at all as a citing case. On State v. Williams, 381 N.J.Super. 572 (App.Div. 2005), although BCite’s composite analysis was negative, its specific analysis of each of the 3 citing cases was positive.
UPDATE: On Aug.23,2011, I rechecked the same cases on BCite. Of the 18 cases for which the specific analyses had been “positive,” 5 had been changed to “negative” (“overruled in part”). On two others, although the specific analyses remained “positive,” the composite analysis had changed to negative because of a later case noting “prior overruling.” And of the 3 cases for which the specific analysis had been “caution” (“criticized”) 2 had changed to “negative” (“overruled in part”). The third case that been “caution”(“criticized”) (State v. Ginnetti, 232 N.J. Super.378, as cited by State v. Bernhardt, 245 N.J.Super. 210) was now “positive” (“discussed, quoted”).
Judiciary website drops cert orders list
The N.J. Judiciary website has stopped posting a list of recent Supreme Court orders granting certification. That list used to provide the cite or date of the opinion below, information that is not included in the “Track Supreme Court Appeals” page.