As Gov & Lawmakers Sparred Over Top Court Vacancy, Chief Judge Made Temp Appointment
As the new governor of New Jersey and state lawmakers deadlocked for months about filling a vacancy on the state’s highest court, its top judge finally took action.
Chief Justice Stuart Rabner filled the vacancy—temporarily—himself, two weeks ago, by elevating a judge from state appellate court. Whether he had the power to do so was the topic of a debate between law professors today in a teleconference sponsored by the Federalist Society, reports the Star-Ledger.
All three law professors agreed that the state constitution gives Rabner the authority to bring in another judge, if needed to create a quorum on the seven-member court. But Robert Williams of Rutgers University said the constitution’s plain language also gives Rabner the power to appoint a judge temporarily as a tie-breaker, so that the supreme court won’t potentially be crippled by tie votes in a number of cases.
A court rule says the chief judge can reassign a jurist “when necessary to constitute a quorum, to replace a justice who is absent or unable to act, or to expedite the business of the court,” the newspaper notes.
The empty seat resulted from new Governor Chris Christie’s controversial decision to oust a respected longtime member of the court, Justice John Wallace Jr., in May. The state senate president then refused to schedule a hearing to consider Christie’s nominee until March 2012, when Wallace would have reached mandatory retirement age.
Earlier coverage:
New Jersey Newsroom: “N.J. Chief Justice Rabner’s letter to judges critical of Christie”
