In light of New Jersey Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart
Rabner’s announcement today that he will not fill a second vacancy on the high
court left as a result of Justice Faustino J. Fernandez-Vina’s retirement, the
New Jersey State Bar Association urges that the Governor nominate candidates to
the bench as soon as possible and work diligently with legislators to ensure
the successful confirmation of each, in the way the framers of our Constitution
intended. The Supreme Court is the pinnacle of our independent, third branch of
government and all efforts should be taken to ensure it can return to full
strength as soon as possible.
In addition, with historic numbers of vacancies
throughout the court system, many of which have been pending for several years,
there are too few judges serving the bench. Coupled with the impact of the
pandemic, the vacancies have resulted in staggering backlogs and too many
people waiting for justice. The NJSBA reiterates its call on Gov. Phil Murphy
and legislative leaders to take all reasonable measures to fill the rising
number of judicial vacancies on the state’s courts, including two on the New
Jersey Supreme Court.