The Appellate Section of the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office is the largest appellate practice of any County Prosecutor’s office in New Jersey. It is comprised of career appellate lawyers, all of whom enjoy considerable experience in the state and federal appellate courts. In total, the Section’s attorneys have argued scores of cases in the Supreme Court of New Jersey, hundreds more in the Appellate Division, and have extensive oral argument and briefing experience in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States.

The Section handles all litigation on behalf of the ECPO in the Appellate Division and the Supreme Court of New Jersey, whether it be pre-trial, during trial, or post-sentencing.  It also initiates its own appeals from adverse rulings, often resulting in the successful re-instatement of prosecutions that were effectively terminated. The Section also handles all habeas corpus petitions in federal court, municipal appeals, gun permit appeals, name change applications, reciprocal witness applications, appeals of orders granting or denying pretrial detention, civil discovery requests, and all requests made under the Open Public Records Act and the common law right of access.

The Section also takes great pride in being an always-ready resource for ECPO’s trial and specialized-unit prosecutors. Providing legal advice and case updates, reviewing trial court briefs, drafting jury instructions, assisting with challenging pretrial motions, providing legal updates, and teaching CLE courses are just a few of the ways the Section is integral to the ECPO’s mission of seeking justice, serving justice, and doing justice, both on appeal and throughout the investigative and trial processes.