Pashman Stein Walder Hayden P.C. Case Featured in Law360 as One of Three “New Jersey Cases to Watch in 2026”
Law360 featured three cases in its column, “New Jersey Cases to Watch in 2026,” including one in which Pashman Stein Walder Hayden P.C. represents the plaintiffs, together with Gibbons P.C. and the Education Law Center, as co-counsel.
The case, Latino Action Network v. State of New Jersey, was initially filed in May 2018 asserting that persistent segregation in New Jersey’s public schools has violated the constitutional rights of hundreds of thousands of New Jersey students.
Liability and remedy were bifurcated early in the case and after several months of discovery, the plaintiffs moved for partial summary judgment on the issue of liability, asking the court to rule based on undisputed facts from the State’s own public school data that the existing levels of racial segregation in New Jersey’s public schools violate provisions of the New Jersey Constitution as a matter of law and that the statute requiring children to attend schools in the district in which they reside was unconstitutional. On Oct. 6, 2023, Superior Court Judge Robert Lougy issued his ruling, agreeing with part of plaintiff’s contention: that school segregation exists and it is the State’s constitutional duty to fix it, but did not grant summary judgment. An appeal of that ruling was stayed while the parties explored, through mediation before retired Supreme Court Justice Barry Albin, remedies designed to tackle this vitally important public issue.
The mediation was unsuccessful, and on July 8, 2025, the Appellate Division granted plaintiff’s motion for leave to appeal, with oral arguments expected in 2026.
The article notes:
A decision could clarify the scope of state obligations in remedying racial imbalance, define the limits of district autonomy, and determine whether statewide structural remedies — such as controlled‑choice plans or regionalization — are judicially enforceable.
Given the case's potential to reshape education governance, funding, and district boundaries, Latino Action Network is widely viewed as one of the most consequential constitutional matters on New Jersey's 2026 docket.
Pashman Stein attorneys representing the plaintiffs include partners Michael S. Stein and Roger Plawker. Pashman Stein special counsel Justice Gary S. Stein (Ret.) serves as president of the New Jersey Coalition for Diverse and Inclusive Schools, Inc., a nonprofit corporation that has championed the filing and litigation proceedings on behalf of the plaintiffs.
To read the full article in Law360, click here.
