Eleven new state judges approved. Dozens more vacancies remain. Chief justice calls for swift action to fill judicial vacancies
By COLLEEN O’DEA, SENIOR WRITER AND PROJECTS EDITOR, NJ Spotlight
Jeralyn L. Lawrence, president of the New Jersey State Bar Association, says the number of judicial vacancies is “mind-boggling.”
The existence of three open seats on the New Jersey Supreme Court less than a month before it begins its new term is both “historic” and “catastrophic,” the president of the New Jersey State Bar Association said, urging Gov. Phil Murphy and senators to quickly confirm nominees for those seats and to fill another 63 openings on the state courts.
‘It’s mind-boggling. It’s catastrophic. It’s unheard of. It’s historic.’ — Jeralyn L. Lawrence, New Jersey State Bar Association.
“It’s mind-boggling. It’s catastrophic. It’s unheard of. It’s historic,” said Jeralyn L. Lawrence, the bar association president. “Here we sit, less than a month away from the next session, and we have a Supreme Court that’s forty-three percent vacant. Can you imagine any profession operating with a forty-three percent vacancy?”
Echoing comments by Chief Justice Stuart Rabner, superior court judges, and the administrator of the state courts, Lawrence said that people are suffering.
“Access to justice is compromised,” Lawrence said. “Real people, families, children are being harmed. And we’ve been talking about this for months. Our judiciary is not functioning properly, and the governor and the Legislature are not acting swiftly enough to fix the problem.”
Criminal cases have been delayed, keeping some defendants in jail without bail for longer than the five-year-old criminal justice reform envisioned. Most personal injury cases are postponed indefinitely. Divorce trials are also on hold in most counties.
