Case Name: STATE OF NEW JERSEY, PLAINTIFF-RESPONDENT, v. ROBERT J. CAMERON, DEFENDANT-APPELLANT
Court: New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division
Jurisdiction: New Jersey
Decision Date: 1983-04-21
Citations: 189 N.J. Super. 404
Docket Number: 
Parties: STATE OF NEW JERSEY, PLAINTIFF-RESPONDENT, v. ROBERT J. CAMERON, DEFENDANT-APPELLANT.
Judges: 
Reporter: New Jersey Superior Court Reports
Volume: 189
Pages: 404–411

Head Matter:
STATE OF NEW JERSEY, PLAINTIFF-RESPONDENT, v. ROBERT J. CAMERON, DEFENDANT-APPELLANT.
Superior Court of New Jersey Appellate Division
Submitted March 29, 1983 —
Decided April 21, 1983.
Before Judges MATTHEWS, ANTELL and FRANCIS.
Frank J. Morelli, attorney for appellant (Dwayne C. Vaughn on the brief).
Stanley Cutler, attorney for respondent Township of Franklin.

Opinion:
The opinion of the majority was delivered by
MATTHEWS, P.J.A.D.
The judgment of the Law Division is affirmed substantially for the reasons expressed by Judge Meredith in his thoughtful opinion, 184 N.J.Super. 66 (Law Div.1982).
With respect to defendant's argument that a residence does not become a "church or similar place of worship" simply because a congregation holds its regular Sunday services there, we observe, that according to Webster , a "church is a building set apart for public esp. Christian worship: as a; the principal house of a parish." The undisputed facts establish that defendant's worship services were moved from a public building to his home for financial reasons. It cannot be seriously disputed that each of the locations constituted the church for the congregation. The issue here is not one of semantics, however, it involves the reasonableness of police power regulation of defendant's asserted First Amendment rights. We are satisfied that Judge Meredith has correctly resolved the issue.
Webster's Third New International Dictionary unabr., 1971, at 404.