“In its relations with the U.S. Supreme Court, the New Jersey court has quite consciously pursued an independent course. Although they have rarely challenged the court's authority directly, the justices in Trenton have declined to defer to its judgment and have exploited the leeway available to them to pursue their own constitutional vision.”
Alan Tarr & Mary Cornelia Porter

Inspired by Justice Stein’s remarkable career on the New Jersey Supreme Court, the Stein Public Interest Center brings a depth of knowledge and experience to its appellate advocacy. Because of our reputation as one of the leading appellate practices in the state, public interest organizations routinely ask us to file friend-of-the-court briefs in a wide variety of cases before the New Jersey Supreme Court, including those involving the criminal justice system and the rights of the criminally accused.

We strive to be involved in the most important criminal cases on the Supreme Court’s docket each term. Our work over the past several years includes successfully arguing to the New Jersey Supreme Court that the New Jersey Constitution does not permit police officers to order passengers out of automobiles as a matter of right unless there are “specific and articulable facts that would warrant heightened caution,” even though the United States Supreme Court came to a different conclusion when applying the United States Constitution.

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