newjerseynewsroom.com

BY TOM HESTER SR.

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Sen. Richard Codey (D-Essex) Tuesday called on Gov. Chris Christie to end what has become a year-long political standoff that has helped bring about 11 vacancies on the state Superior Court bench in Essex County — the state’s busiest court.

“Since Governor Christie took office (in January 2010) there have been 11 judicial vacancies in Essex County, and it took him two years to nominate one person for those vacancies,” Codey said. “So we sit here today with 11 vacancies still remaining and piles upon piles of cases that are going unheard because the governor has not acted. The people of Essex County deserve better than that. The governor needs to act.

“Over a year ago, I, along with other Democratic senators, met with the governor’s staff and signed off on six nominees,” Codey added. “Since then, the governor has taken no steps to advance those nominations. The ball is in his court on this. Until he and he alone decides to act, literally thousands of cases are going to remain unheard. The time to fill these vacancies is now!”

Because of the shortage of judges, all complex civil trials at the county courthouse in Newark were postponed from January through March. Thousands of civil and matrimonial cases have been delayed because of the shortage.

While making an appearance in Bedminster, Christie told The Star-Ledger, he is open to compromise.

"The ball’s not in my court," the governor said. "I’m on the court. The ball’s right in the middle." The governor added that he believes a compromise can be reached with the Essex Senate Democrats, but not "by them sending out press releases. I can guarantee you that."

Christie told The Star-Ledger the Essex delegation must initially agree to settle a host of other pending appointments, which is believed to include approving the appointment of Dow to one of the Essex judgeships, before the six-judge package can move.

"They know that," the governor told The Star-Ledger. "The same tact has been used with Democrat-dominated Senate districts in Bergen, Hudson and Camden counties. Essex County isn’t going to be treated any differently."

Codey is stepping into a 16-month standoff between Christie and Sen. Ronald Rice (D-Essex), which has prevented action on at least six prospective Essex Superior Court judicial nominees from becoming judges.

Rice is using so-called senatorial courtesy to block the appointment of state acting Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf because the senator has concerns about what he sees as Christie’s approach to education reform. The governor, meanwhile, put pressure on Rice and Essex Democrats by refusing to act on any of the six judicial nominees.

Christie also wants to nominate former state attorney general and former Essex prosecutor Paula Dow to the Essex Superior Court, and that idea has added to the vacancy problem.

"We’re at a bad point and getting worse," Rice told The Star-Ledger Tuesday. He said Christie is wrongly linking the Cerf matter with the judge vacancies.

"These are two separate issues," the senator told The Star-Ledger. “The governor is saying I’m holding up judges. That’s not true. I’m willing to sign off on the judges when we get the paperwork. None of us have gotten the paperwork.”