Daniel L. Schmutter, Esq.

Schmutter_Dan_Headshot

dschmutter@hartmanwinnicki.com | E-mail Disclaimer | Twitter
Member

Education
University of Virginia School of Law, J.D., 1991
Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania,
B.S. Econ., 1986

Bar Admissions  

  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • Supreme Court of the United States
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of New York

Areas of Concentration

Civil Rights & Constitutional Law
Appellate Practice & Amicus Curiae
Litigation

Mr. Schmutter concentrates his practice in litigation, with a particular focus on commercial matters, civil rights, and constitutional law.  His commercial practice involves a strong emphasis on disputes dealing with real estate and environmental issues. His civil rights and constitutional law practice focuses on First Amendment, Second Amendment, Fifth Amendment, and Fourteenth Amendment matters.

A significant portion of his practice involves the representation of clients in appellate litigation.  Mr. Schmutter has argued before high courts such as the New York Court of Appeals and the New Hampshire Supreme Court and has briefed before the United States Supreme Court and the New Jersey Supreme Court.

Mr. Schmutter practices in federal and state courts, before administrative tribunals and in other proceedings in New Jersey and New York. He also represents clients in alternative dispute resolution proceedings, including arbitrations and mediations.

Mr. Schmutter is experienced in contract litigation, franchise litigation, shareholder and partner disputes, creditors’ rights and bankruptcy, commercial landlord-tenant disputes, trademark and copyright litigation, land use litigation, and trust and estate cases.  He has represented a broad variety of clients, including real estate developers, manufacturing and industrial companies, international restaurant companies, and other commercial enterprises, including both Fortune 500 companies and small closely held businesses and individuals.

Honors & Awards

  • Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Rated AV® Preeminent (a trademark of Internet Brands, Inc.) (2014 – present)
  • Super Lawyers (a Thompson Reuters business) (2019 – present)
  • Member, Order of the Coif

A description of the standard or methodology on which the accolades are based can be found HERE. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Selected Representative Matters

  • Has represented clients in claims of excessive government regulation, and has appeared on national television and been published in major newspapers in connection with these efforts.
  • Throughout his career, has submitted eleven Amicus Curiae briefs to the Supreme Court of the United States, the Supreme Court of New Jersey, and the New York Court of Appeals

First Amendment

Mr. Schmutter has represented numerous individuals and entities in First Amendment matters, including:

  • Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
  • Electronic Frontier Foundation
  • Public Citizen
  • Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
  • First Amendment Law Professors and Scholars
  • Intellectual Property Law Professors and Scholars
  • DuckDuckGo
  • Defense Distributed

Second Amendment

Mr. Schmutter has represented numerous individuals and entities in Second Amendment matters, including:

  • National Rifle Association of America
  • Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs
  • Second Amendment Foundation
  • Firearms Policy Coalition
  • National Shooting Sports Foundation
  • Knife Rights
  • NFA Freedom Alliance
  • Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership
  • New Jersey Association of Firearms Retailers
  • The Liberal Gun Club
  • Coalition of New Jersey Firearm Owners
  • California Gun Rights Foundation
  • Arizona Citizens Defense League

Supreme Court of the United States

  • District of Columbia v. Heller – Filed Amicus Curiae brief with the Supreme Court of the United States in support of Dick Heller in the landmark case District of Columbia v. Heller in which the Supreme Court held for the first time that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to keep and bear arms.
  • McDonald v. Chicago – Filed Amicus Curiae brief with the Supreme Court of the United States in support of Otis McDonald in McDonald v. Chicago.  The brief was cited by Justice Samuel Alito for the proposition that the constitutional right to keep and bear arms is particularly significant to protect minority populations from pervasive violence.
  • Koontz v. St. Johns River Water Management District – Represented New York based think tank The Land Use Institute as Amicus Curiae in support of petitioner Koontz in Koontz v. St. Johns River Water Management District, a significant property rights case in which the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Takings Clause of the United States Constitution protects property owners against “coercive monetary exactions” by government agencies as a condition of obtaining land use development permits and approvals.
  • New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen – Filed Amicus Curiae brief with the Supreme Court of the United States in support of the Petitioners in the landmark case New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen in which the Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment guarantees the right to carry a handgun outside the home for self-defense and that courts may not use tiers of scrutiny balancing to prejudice the fundamental right to keep and bear arms. 

State Supreme Courts

  • Bach v. New Hampshire Department of Safety (Supreme Court of New Hampshire) – Successfully argued before the New Hampshire Supreme Court in Bach v. New Hampshire Department of Safety, in which the Court struck down an unauthorized regulation requiring non-resident concealed carry permit applicants to produce a home state permit, something largely impossible for many or even most residents of states such as New Jersey, New York, Maryland, California, Hawaii, and Massachusetts, as well as the District of Columbia.
  • Osterweil v. Bartlett (New York Court of Appeals) – Successfully represented the appellant in a matter before the New York Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court. The Court was asked to consider, in Osterweil v. Bartlett, whether an applicant who has a part-time residence in New York but makes his permanent domicile elsewhere is eligible for a New York handgun permit in the city or county where his part-time residence is located. The Court’s decision struck down a 20 year old rule that had prohibited such part-time New York residents from obtaining handgun permits for their home.
  • Balsamides v. Perle (Supreme Court of New Jersey) – Was one of two attorneys to litigate Balsamides v. Perle, the leading case in New Jersey on the valuation of closely held corporations under the New Jersey shareholder oppression statute
  • Petro-Lubricant Testing Laboratories, Inc. v. Adelman (Supreme Court of New Jersey) – Represented Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press as Amicus Curiae in support of respondent Adelman in Petro-Lubricant Testing Laboratories, Inc. v. Adelman, a significant free speech case in which the New Jersey Supreme Court held that the Fair Report Privilege does not require disclosure of a settlement when reporting a full, fair, and accurate account of a lawsuit and that the Single Publication Rule protects postings on the internet against attempts to circumvent important statute of limitations protections.

Other Appellate Courts

  • Knife Rights v. Vance (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit) – Successfully argued before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Knife Rights v. Vance, obtaining a reversal of the District Court’s dismissal of the complaint and establishing that the plaintiffs challenging New York City’s practice of arresting ordinary individuals for carrying ordinary pocket knives had standing to challenge that practice on the ground of vagueness under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
  • Des Champs Laboratories, Inc. v. Martin (New Jersey Appellate Division) – Successfully argued Des Champs Laboratories, Inc. v. Martin, in which the Court struck down an unauthorized regulation of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) that threatened to significantly increase clean up obligations under the Industrial Site Recovery Act (ISRA) for businesses using very small amounts of hazardous substances
  • Won a New Jersey Appellate Division victory on behalf of a leading real estate developer, seeking to advance a major project to clean up and develop a former industrial factory site in central New Jersey. The project was opposed by a neighboring supermarket chain, which brought a prerogative writ action in Superior Court to block the project in order to prevent a competing retailer from moving in and competing. The client had obtained a rezoning of the land to accommodate the project, and the plaintiff argued at trial that the zoning ordinance was invalid under the Municipal Land Use Law. The client prevailed at trial, and in the first appeal, the Appellate Division reversed the judgment of the Law Division due to a technical defect in the City’s notice, but wrote approvingly, without explicitly affirming, as to the substantive findings made by the trial court. After the City readopted the ordinance, curing its notice defect, the plaintiff challenged the ordinance again, claiming that it was entitled to whole new trial on the merits and to assert new claims, arguing that the prior language of the Appellate Division was mere dicta and non-binding. The Appellate Division affirmed dismissal of the second lawsuit on the grounds of res judicata and collateral estoppel.
  • Scholastic Bus Co., Inc. v. Fairlawn (New Jersey Appellate Division) – Successfully tried and argued Scholastic Bus Co., Inc. v. Fairlawn, a case involving the proper standards to be applied under New Jersey’s Municipal Land Use Law.

More Activities and Experience

  • Prior to practicing law, Mr. Schmutter worked in corporate finance for Republic National Bank of New York
  • Mr. Schmutter has volunteered as a guest lecturer teaching Constitutional Law to college, high school, and middle school students in the United States and Europe.

Speaking Engagements

  • Panelist, New Jersey Firearms Laws and Updates
    Sponsor: New Jersey State Bar Association Annual Convention 2023, Atlantic City, New Jersey, May 17, 2023
  • Panelist, A Round Table Discussion About Firearms Law and Policy
    Sponsor: C. Willard Heckel Inn of Court at Rutgers Law School, Newark, New Jersey, May 10, 2023
  • Panelist, Firearms Permitting Issues and the 2nd Amendment
    Sponsor: New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education, December 21, 2022
  • Panelist, Heller, McDonald, and now Bruen: Seismic Shifts and New Challenges
    Sponsor: 2022 Second Amendment Foundation Gun Rights Policy Conference, Dallas, Texas, October 1, 2022
  • Presenter, Fighting for Your Rights – Constitutional Law and Public Policy
    Sponsor: 2021 Second Amendment Foundation Gun Rights Policy Conference, September 26, 2021
  • Presenter, Winning Firearms Freedom One Lawsuit at a Time
    Sponsor: 2020 Second Amendment Foundation Gun Rights Policy Conference, September 19, 2020
  • Guest Speaker, How The Second Amendment Winds Are Blowing: A Survey of State & Federal Cases
    Sponsor: Essex County NJ Republic Women Constitution Day Dinner, Fairfield, New Jersey, September 17, 2020
  • Panelist, New Jersey Gun Law: Case Update, Permitting Issues, Extreme Risk Protective Orders, and Domestic Seizures and Forfeitures
    Sponsor: New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education, August 25, 2020
  • Presenter, Winning Firearms Freedom One Lawsuit at a Time
    Sponsor: 2019 Second Amendment Foundation Gun Rights Policy Conference, Phoenix, Arizona, September 21, 2019
  • Presenter, The Second Amendment in Play: New Jersey Faces the Federal Courts
    Sponsor: 2018 New Jersey Second Amendment & Firearms Education Conference, Vineland, New Jersey, September 22, 2018
  • Presenter, Winning Firearms Freedom One Lawsuit at a Time
    Sponsor: 2017 Second Amendment Foundation Gun Rights Policy Conference, Dallas, Texas, September 30, 2017
  • Presenter, On the Cutting Edge: Wrenn v. District of Columbia and the Right to Carry
    Sponsor: 2017 New Jersey Second Amendment & Firearms Education Conference, Princeton, New Jersey, September 23, 2017
  • Panelist, Guns in America: Understanding the Second Amendment
    Sponsor: New Jersey State Bar Association Annual Meeting and Convention, Atlantic City, New Jersey, May 17, 2017
  • Presenter, Gun Law in New Jersey: Constitutional Components of Firearms Law
    Sponsor: National Business Institute Full Day CLE Conference, Cherry Hill, New Jersey, March 10, 2017
  • Presenter, Gun Law in New Jersey: Constitutional Components of Firearms Law
    Sponsor: National Business Institute Full Day CLE Conference, Princeton and Newark, New Jersey, December 8 and 12, 2016
  • Presenter, Winning Firearms Freedom One Lawsuit at a Time
    Sponsor: 2016 Second Amendment Foundation Gun Rights Policy Conference, Tampa, Florida, September 24, 2016
  • Presenter, Carry Update 2016: New Jersey and National
    Sponsor: 2016 New Jersey Second Amendment & Firearms Education Conference, Parsippany, New Jersey, July 30, 2016
  • Presenter, The Future of Right to Carry in the Courts
    Sponsor: 2015 New Jersey Second Amendment & Firearms Education Conference, Vineland, New Jersey, October 3, 2015
  • Presenter, Winning Firearms Freedom One Lawsuit at a Time
    Sponsor: 2015 Second Amendment Foundation Gun Rights Policy Conference, Phoenix, Arizona, September 26, 2015
  • Presenter, Winning Firearms Freedom One Lawsuit at a Time
    Sponsor: 2014 Second Amendment Foundation Gun Rights Policy Conference, Chicago, Illinois, September 27, 2014
  • Presenter, Taking Gun Rights Cases Through the Courts
    Sponsor: 2013 Second Amendment Foundation Gun Rights Policy Conference, Houston, Texas, September 28, 2013
  • Lecturer, View from the Street: Firearms Law in Pennsylvania and New Jersey
    Sponsor: 2012 NRA Firearms Law & The Second Amendment Symposium, October 13, 2012
  • Presenter, Fine-Tuning Arms Rights in the Courts
    Sponsor: 2012 Second Amendment Foundation Gun Rights Policy Conference, Orlando, Florida, September 29, 2012
  • Panelist, The Dangers Within: An Update on Dealing with Environmental Hazards in the Workplace It’s Not Just About OSHA!
    Sponsor: New Jersey Corporate Counsel Association 10th Annual Full Day CLE Conference, September 12, 2012
  • Guest Speaker, The Second Amendment in the Courts – Issues and Developments Since McDonald
    Sponsor: New Jersey Second Amendment Society meeting, May 23, 2012
  • Guest Speaker, Forty Years of the Second Amendment Civil Rights Movement – From Burton v. Sills to McDonald v. Chicago
    Sponsor: New Jersey Second Amendment Society meeting, February 16, 2011
  • Featured Guest, Impact of McDonald v. Chicago on the Constitutionality of New Jersey Firearms Law
    Sponsor: Freedom Watch, FOX Business Network, August 2010

Publications & Alerts