New Jersey Law Revision Commission

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New Jersey
Law Revision Commission


In Memoriam

John M. Cannel, 1942 - 2025

The Commissioners and Staff of the New Jersey Law Revision Commission were saddened to hear of the passing of John M. Cannel in June 2025. 

John was the first Executive Director of the Commission. He served in that position from the time the Commission began work in 1987 until his retirement in 2012. After his retirement, he continued his association with the Commission in a volunteer capacity for a decade, in a position created for him with the title of “Reviser of Statutes.”  

Born and raised in New Jersey, John received his undergraduate degree from Rutgers, The State University, before attending the London School of Economics and then graduating from the Yale Law School. Immediately after completing law school, John returned to New Jersey and began a career that encompassed nearly 55 years of service to the State. Starting in 1968, John spent almost 20 years with New Jersey’s Office of the Public Defender. He participated in the drafting of the New Jersey Parole Act (1979) and the Public Advocate Act (1974).

As Executive Director of the Commission, John worked on, and oversaw the work of Commission Staff on, a substantial number of projects focusing on diverse legal topics. Bills based on many of these projects were enacted by the Legislature and significantly changed New Jersey’s law.

John’s extensive record of public service was not limited to his employment with the State. He served as a member of the Governor's Task Force on Implementation of the Criminal Code (1978 to 1979), a member of New Jersey Criminal Disposition Commission (1979 to 1986), and a member of New Jersey Supreme Court Committees on Criminal Practice (for more than 40 years beginning in 1972) and Evidence (1981 to 2007). Additionally, John served for over a decade as a Commissioner in the New Jersey Delegation of the Uniform Law Commission. He also taught as an adjunct faculty member at Seton Hall Law School in 1973 and 1974, and at the Rutgers Law School – Newark from 1989 to 1994, in 2007, and then from 2011 through 2025. 

John was the author of the well-known publication New Jersey Criminal Code Annotated (Gann Law Books) and the co-author of Leases of Personal Property: A Project for Consumer Protection, 28 Harvard Journal on Legislation 115 (1991) and of Children in Need of Services: Toward A More Coherent Approach to Protecting New Jersey's Children and Families, 40 Seton Hall Legis. J. 1 (2016).  

The Commission extends our sympathies to John’s family, his friends, and to those in the legal profession and beyond who recall John’s unique talent, and his love for and many contributions to the law.

 


News: Welcome Andrew Galligan and Nivu Srinivasan

Andrew Galligan

Nivu Srinivasan


We are pleased to announce that Andrew Galligan from Rutgers-Newark and Nivu Srinivasan from Seton Hall University will be joining the New Jersey Law Revision Commission as Legislative Law Clerks for the Summer.


Spring Newsletter 2025

We are pleased to announce the release of the New Jersey Law Revision Commission's very first Newsletter



A Tradition of Law Revision, 1987 - Present

With the enactment of N.J.S. 1:12A-1 et seq., the current New Jersey Law Revision Commission was created in 1985 and began work in 1987.

The New Jersey Law Revision Commission is required by statute to “promote and encourage the clarification and simplification of the law…and its better adaptation to present social needs, secure the better administration of justice and carry on scholarly legal research and work.” N.J.S. 1:12A-8.

The Commission does so by conducting an ongoing review of New Jersey statutes and case law to identify areas of the law that require revision. The Commission also considers recommendations from the American Law Institute, the Uniform Law Commission (formerly the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws) and other learned bodies as well as members of the legal community and the public.


Tentative Reports Out for Comments

The Tentative Reports below are distributed to advise interested persons of the NJLRC's tentative recommendations and to offer an opportunity to submit comments. The Commission is actively seeking comments on the reports below.

Standard Proof for Alcohol Test Refusal Offenses in N.J.S. 39:4-50.4a

Title 18A: Special Education - Incorrect References in Statute


Contact Us 

LOCATION:

153 Halsey Street, 7th Floor
Newark, NJ 07102

☎ CONTACT:

P: (973) 648-4575

F: (973) 648-3123