The October 2022 issue of New Jersey Lawyer celebrates the 75th anniversary of the state’s constitution.
The special issue, a publication of the New Jersey State Bar Association, features 13 articles that offer commentary from some of New Jersey’s leading legal practitioners on matters relating to the state constitution. It also includes an article from New Jersey Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner on tips for a persuasive oral argument and appellate advocacy.
Much has changed even in the last quarter century of U.S. state constitutional law, a time that saw the public, interest groups, politicians, judges and lawyers take greater interest in state constitutions and their interpretation by state Supreme Courts, according to John C. Connell and Robert F. Williams, who served as special editors to the October issue. The added focus is attributable to state courts weighing in on hot-button issues like marriage equality, along with more recent decisions like the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which returned the issue of abortion to the states, the editors wrote.
The articles featured in the issue include:
• Tips on Appellate Advocacy – By Chief Justice Stuart Rabner
• How New Jersey Protects Access to Abortion in the Aftermath of Dobbs – By Linda J. Wharton
• From ‘Reefer Madness’ to the War on Drugs to Legal Recreational Marijuana: How Safe are N.J. Residents from Federal Enforcement? – By Anthony M. Fassano and John C. Connell
• Free Speech on Private Property: Adapting a Set of Fundamental Rights Under the New Jersey Constitution – By Bruce S. Rosen and Brittany Burns
• New Jersey’s State Constitutions: From Ridicule to Respect – By Robert F. Williams
• 1997–2022: Amendments to the New Jersey Constitution
• A Districting Amendment—or a Districting Convention?: A Look at How We Can Address Gerrymandering – By Edward A. Hartnett
• Legislature, Courts Shape Evolving Bail Reform Landscape – By Alan L. Zegas
• New Jersey’s Constitutional Right to a Civil Jury Trial: ‘Inviolate’ But Not ‘Absolute’ – By Judge Gary K. Wolinetz and Bruce D. Greenberg
• How Two Constitutional Reforms Gave New Jersey Government More Streamlined Authority and Judicial Review – By Ronald K. Chen
• Affordable Housing and the Mount Laurel Doctrine: Enforcement has Returned to the Courts – By Judge Peter A. Buchsbaum
• A State Constitutional Right to Firearm Safety: An Idea Whose Time Has Come? – By Steven M. Richman
• Book Review—The New Jersey Constitution: An Origin Story, Evolution, and Analysis – By Judge Peter A. Buchsbaum
The edition also includes practice tips on how attorneys can de-stress, decompress and recharge after a long day. NJSBA President Jeralyn L. Lawrence offers her perspective on attorney ethics—how to reform the state’s rules for disbarment and advice for attorneys facing an ethics violation.
The
full edition of New Jersey Lawyer is available on njsba.com.