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For the First Time 17-Year-Olds Are Able to Vote in New Jersey Primaries

by Jodi Miller | March 16, 2026 | The Legal Eagle Lowdown | 0 Comments

by Maria Wood Voter participation in primary elections is typically low. The Garden State is looking to reverse that trend by attracting a new voter demographic—17-year-olds. The objective of a new law, which passed in 2024 and took effect January 1, 2026, is to...

Can Public Officials Block Critics Online? U.S. Supreme Court Says, “It Depends”

by Jodi Miller | March 16, 2026 | The Legal Eagle Lowdown | 0 Comments

by Michael Barbella From its earliest days, social media has created significant legal challenges for America’s judicial system. Numerous cases involving digital networks have been brought before the courts seeking clarification on how the First Amendment, which...

Understanding The Judiciary and Judicial Independence

by Jodi Miller | March 16, 2026 | The Legal Eagle Lowdown | 0 Comments

by Robin Roenker Inscribed over the entrance to the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, DC are the words “Equal Justice Under Law.” According to the webpage of the U.S. Supreme Court, those words “express the ultimate responsibility of the Supreme Court of the...

Understanding Freedom of the Press

by Jodi Miller | January 5, 2026 | The Legal Eagle Lowdown | 0 Comments

by Robin Roenker In the United States the press is often referred to as the Fourth Estate, the other estates being the three branches of government—legislative (Congress), executive (the President) and judicial (the courts). The press, and all forms of news media, are...

U.S. Supreme Court Issues Ruling on E-Cigarettes

by Jodi Miller | January 2, 2026 | The Legal Eagle Lowdown | 0 Comments

by Michael Barbella Despite concerns about potential health risks, e-cigarettes, first introduced in the U.S. in 2007, have become popular over the nearly two decades they have been on the market, especially among teens and young adults. Opponents of e-cigarettes...

Behind the Screen: Legal Gaps Leave Kidfluencers Unprotected

by Jodi Miller | January 2, 2026 | The Legal Eagle Lowdown | 0 Comments

by Emily Pecot Goldman Sachs, an investment bank firm, estimates the value of the social media influencer economy at around $250 billion and projects that it will reach $480 billion by 2027. According to a 2023 survey by Morning Consult, a global market research...

Becoming a Lifelong Voter in New Jersey Could Start at Age 16

by Jodi Miller | September 17, 2025 | The Legal Eagle Lowdown | 0 Comments

by Maria Wood Thomas Jefferson once said, "We do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate." For the most part, those who can participate in government by exercising their right to vote are citizens that are 18 years of...

Grappling with Ghost Guns

by Jodi Miller | September 16, 2025 | The Legal Eagle Lowdown | 0 Comments

by Emily Pecot The legal landscape of gun safety faces a new frontier centering around the "ghost gun." While the term ghost gun may be catchy, the official name is "privately made firearms" (PMFs), and these untraceable weapons present a significant challenge for...

New Law Regarding Deepfakes Says, “Take It Down”

by Jodi Miller | September 16, 2025 | The Legal Eagle Lowdown | 0 Comments

by Robin Roenker In October 2023, male students at Westfield High School in New Jersey were caught distributing nude images of several female classmates in group text chats. The images in question were not real, but rather so-called “deepfakes”— images or videos that...

Blurring the Line Between Church and State

by Jodi Miller | March 21, 2025 | The Legal Eagle Lowdown | 0 Comments

by Michael Barbella Legal conflicts are developing across the nation over the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause, as some states push for expanding the role of religion in public schools by incorporating the Ten Commandments or the Bible into state curriculum. The...

Free Speech or Hate Speech, Both Protected—To a Point

by Jodi Miller | January 12, 2026 | The Informed Citizen | 0 Comments

by Jodi L. Miller In the United States, Americans value the right to free speech. It is the foundation of our fundamental rights, provided for in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The amendment states: “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of...

Framers of the U.S. Constitution Valued Silence

by Jodi Miller | August 22, 2025 | The Informed Citizen | 0 Comments

by Jodi L. Miller If you’ve ever watched an episode of Law & Order or some other police procedural, you’re probably familiar with the Self-Incrimination Clause of the Fifth Amendment, which states, “No person…shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness...

Explaining the Double Jeopardy Clause

by Jodi Miller | August 22, 2025 | The Informed Citizen | 0 Comments

by Jodi L. Miller Can you imagine going through the anxiety and expense of a trial, ultimately being acquitted of the crime you’re accused of only to be tried again for the same crime? The Founding Fathers could, and they addressed it in the Fifth Amendment to the...

Hands Off My Property! — The Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment

by Jodi Miller | August 21, 2025 | The Informed Citizen | 0 Comments

by Jodi L. Miller While the Fifth Amendment includes rights that are mostly focused on criminal law, it also includes what is known as the Takings Clause, which reads, “… nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” The Takings...

Grand Juries and Due Process

by Jodi Miller | August 21, 2025 | The Informed Citizen | 0 Comments

by Jodi L. Miller The Grand Jury Clause and the Due Process Clause are the first and fourth clauses, respectively, of the U.S. Constitution’s Fifth Amendment. Essentially, these clauses deal with criminal procedures. Grand Jury The Grand Jury Clause states, “No person...

Establishing Judicial Review—Origins of the U.S. Supreme Court

by Jodi Miller | January 29, 2025 | The Informed Citizen | 0 Comments

by Jodi L. Miller A 2024 Gallup poll revealed that 52% of Americans disapprove of the job that the U.S. Supreme Court is doing. According to a 2024 Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs poll, 7 in 10 Americans believe the justices on the Court are motivated...

The Influence of a U.S. Supreme Court Dissent

by Jodi Miller | January 29, 2025 | The Informed Citizen | 0 Comments

by Jodi L. Miller When a U.S. Supreme Court majority opinion is released, legal scholars scrutinize it, either praising it for its considered legal argument or disparaging it because they disagree with its conclusion. What about the dissenting opinion? Not much...

Supreme Court Reforms—from Court Packing to Term Limits

by Jodi Miller | January 28, 2025 | The Informed Citizen | 0 Comments

by Jodi L. Miller Amid calls for U.S. Supreme Court reform, then President Joseph Biden issued an executive order in April 2021 that formed the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States. The commission, comprised of experts on the Court and the...

Is the U.S. Constitution Dead or Alive?

by Jodi Miller | January 28, 2025 | The Informed Citizen | 0 Comments

by Jodi L. Miller When the U.S. Constitution was written in 1787 it took at least 30 seconds to load a musket. Could the framers of the Constitution have envisioned automatic weapons? In a time when writing daily letters was the norm could they have imagined the legal...

Maintaining Checks & Balances in Moore v. Harper

by Jodi Miller | October 24, 2023 | The Informed Citizen | 0 Comments

by Jodi L. Miller The United States government is a system of checks and balances. The Founders designed it that way so that no one branch—executive, legislative or judicial—has more power than another. In June 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in Moore...

Are disability pensions and benefits considered taxable income?

by Jodi Miller | August 27, 2025 | Legally Speaking | 0 Comments

Whether you have to pay New Jersey income tax on disability pensions and benefits depends on the type of benefit. For example, if you receive a disability pension from a New Jersey public retirement system (such as PERS, TPAF, or PFRS) due to a total and permanent...

What happens when someone dies without a Will? What are the consequences for the family of the deceased?

by Jodi Miller | August 27, 2025 | Legally Speaking | 0 Comments

If someone dies without a will, it makes a little more work for the family (i.e., cost), and they would likely need to procure a Bond to administer the Estate. In this case, there is no choice as to whom the Decedent leaves things to … meaning that the disposition of...

Are there restrictions on running a business in a residential zone?

by Jodi Miller | August 27, 2025 | Legally Speaking | 0 Comments

You need to check the local zoning and other laws in your municipality and obtain any necessary approvals. Municipalities have specific zoning ordinances that dictate permissible activities in residential areas. These laws can vary significantly between towns. For...

What are the procedures involved in applying for disability and what paperwork will I need?

by Jodi Miller | May 5, 2023 | Legally Speaking | 0 Comments

If you are a New Jersey resident, you would most likely be eligible for NJ Temporary Disability Benefits (NJTDB) for the first six months you are out of work. There is a 3-part form available on the NJ Department of Labor website—you fill out one part, your doctor...

Can my employer require me to take time off during my pregnancy?

by Jodi Miller | May 5, 2023 | Legally Speaking | 0 Comments

An employer cannot require a pregnant employee to take leave when she is able to perform the functions of her job, and, in some cases, even when she cannot. The New Jersey Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which amended the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination...

Does worker’s compensation cover long-term problems and illnesses? Do I have the right to see my own doctor if I am initially treated by an insurance company doctor?

by Jodi Miller | May 5, 2023 | Legally Speaking | 0 Comments

In addition to providing treatment and compensation for work related injuries, New Jersey Workers Compensation laws also provide coverage for occupational disease such as those caused by repetitive motions, loud noises, or exposures to toxins and chemicals. Although...

What expectation of privacy do students have when using a computer wholly owned and overseen by a school district?

by Jodi Miller | February 7, 2022 | Legally Speaking | 0 Comments

Use of district-owned computers typically comes with a disclaimer and requires the signing of a technology agreement between the parents and district before each school year begins. These technology agreements usually consist of a compact that the student promises not...

I have a Will; do I need Estate Planning?

by Jodi Miller | January 26, 2022 | Legally Speaking | 0 Comments

Wills are just one part of Estate Plans. Wills only control assets that are in one’s sole name and become effective after death. Wills do not control joint accounts or beneficiary designations; upon death, the joint owner/beneficiary receives that asset. Estate Plans...

Why do parents of minors need Wills? Minors cannot own assets.

by Jodi Miller | January 26, 2022 | Legally Speaking | 0 Comments

If a minor inherits their parents’ estate, the Courts decide who controls the child’s inheritance until age 18. A father might not want the mother (having first right) to manage his money and she will pay court fees or bond premiums to access this money. Also, the...

What happens if I am involved in an accident while driving under the influence and someone else is injured?

by Jodi Miller | January 5, 2022 | Legally Speaking | 0 Comments

Driving While Intoxicated and causing injuries to another is a criminal offense, Assault by Auto under N.J.S. 2C:12-1c. Criminal offenses are heard in the County Superior Court, not the local Municipal Court. In addition to the penalties for the underlying DWI...

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