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The Walter T. Whitman Memorial Legal Writer Competition

The New Jersey Institute of Local Government Attorneys continues with the annual Walter T. Wittman Memorial Legal Writing Competition. The Institute will award a $1,000 stipend to the author of a scholarly article on a subject of interest in New Jersey municipal law that is accepted for publication in the Institute's quarterly Local Government Law Review.

This Competition has been established in memory of Walter T. Wittman, who was a municipal lawyer in New Jersey from 1983 to 1994. As an officer and trustee of the New Jersey Institute of Municipal Attorneys and the long-time Co-Chair of the League of Municipalities Legislative Committee, Mr. Wittman had a lifelong commitment to racial tolerance, housing equity, open public meetings and enlightened home rule. Accordingly, while articles on all New Jersey municipal law topics are invited, those which further Mr. Wittman's commitments will be given preference.

The rules of the Competition are:

1. All members of the New Jersey Bar and law students at New Jersey law schools and the law school of Columbia University in the City of New York are eligible to enter.

2. All articles must be submitted to the Local Government Law Review, c/o Thomas W. Dunn, Esquire, Beattie Padovano, LLC, 50 Chestnut Ridge Road, P.O. Box 244, Montvale, New Jersey 07645, on or before SEPTEMBER 15, 2010. All articles submitted before that date will be entered in the Competition and it is not necessary that any article be accompanied by a specific entry designation.

3. Submission of an article constitutes the author's consent to its publication in the Local Government Law Review.

4. All articles must be typed, double spaced on 8 ½ x 11" paper. All notes and citations must follow the Manual of Style for the New Jersey Courts.

5. The editorial staff of the Local Government Law Review will, in its sole discretion, determine the suitability of articles for publication and reserves the right to make editorial suggestions.

6. Articles previously published elsewhere will not be eligible. If selected for publication, the author will be required to transfer all rights in the article to the Local Government Law Review.

7. All articles selected for publication will be submitted to a committee appointed by the President of the Institute of Local Government Attorneys. That committee will, in its sole discretion, determine the winner of the Competition.

8. The award will be made and the stipend paid to the winner on or about April 1..The Local Government Law Review is published quarterly and the deadline dates for individual editions are March 15, June 15, September 15 and December 15.

POSSIBLE TOPICS FOR ARTICLES

Walter T. Wittman, the honoree of this competition, had a lifelong commitment to racial tolerance, housing equity, open public meetings and enlightened home rule. Articles on those topics will be given preference in the competition, but articles on all New Jersey local governmental topics are invited. The following are some topics that entrants might want to consider for the 2010 competition:

  • Land Use and 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in the Third Circuit.
  • Can citizens obtain "environmental justice" after South Camden Citizens in Action v. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, 274 F.3d771, 2001 U.S. App. LEXIS 26822, 53 ERC (BNA) 1641, 32 ELR 20425 (3d. Cir. 2001).
  • Home Rule and the Right to Farm Act: Township of Franklin v. David den Hollander, 172 N.J. 147, 796 A.2d 874 (2002), http://lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/courts/supreme/a-12-01.opn.html
  • The Supreme Court and Mount Laurel Redux: The Cases of Toll Brothers, Inc. v. Twp. of West Windsor, 173 N.J. 502, 803 A.2d 53 (2002), http://lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/courts/supreme/a-103-00.opn.html and Fair Housing Center, Inc., et al. v. Township of Cherry Hill, 173 N.J. 393, 802 A.2d 512 (2002), http://lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/courts/supreme/a-66-01.opn.html
  • County Planning after Builders League of South Jersey, Inc. v. Burlington County Planning Board, 353 N.J. Super. 4, 801 A.2d 380 (App. Div. 2002), http://lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/courts/appellate/a3654-00.opn.html
  • Land Use and Religion: How do New Jersey municipalities need to respond to the Religious Land Use and Institutional Persons Act ("RLUIPA")?
  • Sign Regulations and Free Speech in New Jersey.
  • "The law relating to accessory uses is not difficult to recite but difficult to apply:" Stochel, Jr. v. Planning Bd. of Edison Twp., 348 N.J. Super. 636; 792 A.2d 572,; 2002 N.J. Super. LEXIS 101 (2000)
  • Recent Developments under the Open Public Records Law