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Republican Assemblyman responds to the judge's comments on the Christie Supreme Court nomination
BY TOM HESTER SR.
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce (R-Morris) Thursday criticized former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Deborah Poritz for a comment she made Wednesday regarding Gov. Chris Christie's attempt to deny Justice John Wallace Jr. tenure and replace him with attorney Anne M. Patterson.
Poritz said, "By doing this through the tenure process, I think the governor sends a different signal (to judges). The signal is be careful how you carry out your task of judging because that may affect whether you get tenure or not. And that affects the independence of the judiciary."
Poritz was echoing a statement Chief Justice Stuart Rabner made Monday in a letter to over 400 state judges, urging them not to let fear of not being reappointed to the bench cloud their court decisions."Chief Justice Poritz must have amnesia since she allowed her colleague Justice Peter Verniero to be thrown under the bus in 2004," DeCroce said. "In fact, her silence when he was under attack by (Gov.) Jim McGreevey tells everyone that her support depends on how much of a liberal jurist you are, not on how you interpret the law.
"Frankly, it is not too surprising that one of the glaring examples of a justice who believes the judiciary is entitled to intrude into the other branches of government would advocate keeping the status quo of the court," DeCroce said. "Those sitting on the bench are required to be impartial, but the former chief justice is able to selectively decide when it is appropriate to take a side. Her support for Justice Wallace only indicates her belief the judiciary should continue to act as a super legislature."
Poritz was chief justice from 1996 to 2006. Verniero served from 1999 to 2004 when McGreevey and the Democratic-controlled Senate replaced him with Justice Roberto A. Rivera-Soto.
Christie has criticized the seven-member high court as legislating issues rather than making decision based on legal arguments. The governor said that in nominating Patterson, 51, a Republican from Mendham, he is attempting to rebalance the court. It was the first time a governor did not renominate a sitting justice since the present court was established in 1947.
Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney (D-Gloucester) has announced that the Democratic-controlled upper house will not consider Patterson's nomination. Democrats want to see Wallace, 68, of Sewell, the only African-American on the court, renominated to serve another 22 months before he would face mandatory retirement at age 70 in March 2012.
