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Democrats enraged by Governor's decision to nominate Morris County lawyer to replace John E. Wallace Jr.

BY TOM HESTER SR.

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

UPDATED

Gov. Chris Christie's nomination Monday of Anne Murray Patterson, a Morristown-based attorney who lives in Mendham, to replace Justice John E. Wallace Jr. on the state Supreme Court is meeting with strong opposition from Democratic legislative leaders. She would become the fourth woman justice on the court. The only minority member after Wallace leaves will be Justice Roberto A Rivera-Soto, who is of Puerto Rican dissent.

Sen. Raymond J. Lesniak (D-Union), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which would have to approve Patterson's nomination, said it should be defeated.

Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney (D-Gloucester) called Christie's decision not to renominate Wallace is political and accused the governor of giving in to the right wing of his Republican Party.

If renominated, Wallace, 68, of Sewell, the only black on the seven-member court, would have served no more than two years before he would have had to retire at the mandatory age of 70. His initial seven-year term expires on May 20. He is the first justice to be denied tenure although there have been others who resigned to avoid a renomination fight.

The governor has said he wants a court that would make decisions based on law and the Constitution and not, as he sees it, legislate from the bench.

Under the New Jersey Constitution, the power and authority to appoint and re-appoint justices of the Supreme Court rests solely with the governor, with the advice and consent of the state Senate, which is responsible for considering nominees on their merits.

"I wish to thank and commend Justice Wallace for his seven years of dedicated service on the Supreme Court," Christie said "Before and since becoming governor, I was unambiguous in my intention to bring balance and change to the Supreme Court. My selection today is not a commentary on Justice Wallace. It is a fulfillment of my promise to turn the Court away from its history of using legal precedent to set social and tax policies in our state — a role which belongs squarely with the Legislative and Executive branches of state government."

Christie said, "In Anne Patterson, I believe we have a future associate justice who understands at a principled level what it means to be a member of a co-equal branch of government, with its powers and its limitations. I also see in her the high level of legal intellect, character and compassion that I will require of any nomination I have the privilege to make to our highest court."

Lesniak was angered by the decision not to renominate Wallace.

"The Senate has only one option: vote down whomever Christie nominates to replace Justice Wallace on principal and let Chief Justice Rabner fill the spot for two years as needed,'' Lesniak said, knowing Patterson had been nominated. "I would vote against Thurgood Marshall or Barbara Jordon if either were nominated to replace Wallace.''

Both Lesniak and Sweeney noted that Republican Gov. Tom Kean renominated Democratic Justice Robert Wilentz in 1986 despite opposition from Republicans.

"The principal was eloquently articulated by Governor Tom Kean,'' Lesniak said. "Judges have to be totally free to make up their minds on a particular case. They should not have to think how their opinion will affect next year's election or even their reappointment. They should simply view the facts of the case and interpret the law. Accordingly, there has not been a judge since the constitution was adopted in New Jersey who has been denied reappointment based on court opinions or political beliefs. The day that happens, the New Jersey judiciary will be undermined. And I was not going to be party to any such event.

Lesniak added, "Governor Kean also said "In the end, I knew some would never forgive me for the reappointment (Wilentz). But I upheld the principle of the independence of the judiciary, something that will matter long after my term in office has expired."

Sweeney said he is disappointed by what he described as Christie‘s injection of "rank politics into the historic independence of the state's judiciary by bowing to pressure from the far-right in failing to renominate state Supreme Court Justice John Wallace.''

He said, "The governor today tossed aside decades of precedent and decided that rank politics and ideology trump practical experience when choosing who will sit on the state's highest court. By any measure, John Wallace is a model jurist who puts the facts first and foremost in every decision. His removal is an affront to judicial independence. The governor has sent the message to judges across the entire state that if they aspire to sit on the Supreme Court they better start practicing politics rather than law."

Sen. Nicholas P. Scutari (D-Union), the Judiciary Committee chairman, said Wallace's reputation, experience and service have proved him to be the most qualified and only sensible choice for the court seat.

"Perhaps the Governor spent too much time in the federal government to understand the significance of his decision for our state's Constitution,'' Scutari said. "The off-handed dismissal of this jurist shows a lack of respect for the co-equal branches of government and offends every governor who has preceded him."

Sweeney said Wallace is not an "activist judge" that conservatives have opposed in the past.

Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce (R-Morris) praised Patterson's nomination.