Monday was the final day of business in the State House for the current legislative session, and one of the final pieces of work had state lawmakers chipping away at New Jersey’s ongoing judicial vacancy crisis. The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced the nominations of nine new Superior Court judges and the renomination of a currently sitting judge.
The state court system currently has 56 open seats on the bench. If all nine of the new nominees are confirmed, the number of vacancies will drop to 47.
“We’ve made progress, and there’s still work to do,” said Sen. Troy Singleton (D-Burlington). “That’s what we’re going to get to immediately and in the next session, continuing to bring through vetted individuals to ensure that our judiciary gets the full complement of judges it needs.”
Singleton, like other members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has defended New Jersey’s arduous process of vetting judges and approving them, rather than having them be elected.
