Picking Supreme Court justices on the state level in New Jersey is rarely as fraught as it can be on the federal level, with a standing good-faith agreement between the governor and both legislative houses to maintain bipartisanship.

Such collegiality was on display Monday, as Gov. Phil Murphy introduced John Jay Hoffman as his next nominee to the state Supreme Court, with clear support from both sides of the aisle.

“John Hoffman brings all the attributes that we would want in a justice,” said Senate President Nick Scutari at the State House event. “Most importantly, he’s sacrificing. A person of his intellect, his experience, his earning capacity, this really is an impact on his family, but John sees the value in public service and is willing to answer the call of the people of the state of New Jersey.”

Hoffman — named to replace Justice Lee Solomon, who, at 70, is aging off the court — has been in public service most of his professional life, a fact that Murphy highlighted.

“In 2004 he joined the U.S. attorney’s office to protect the people of New Jersey as a prosecutor of both violent and white-collar crime … ,” said Murphy. “In 2010 he moved the state comptroller’s office to serve as their director of investigations and two years later he went on to the Department of Law and Public Safety as executive assistant attorney general. In 2013, Gov. Christie selected John to serve as acting attorney general on this very day exactly 11 years ago.”

State Sen. Jon Bramnick, a Republican candidate for governor in 2025, said he has worked closely with Hoffman, dating back to the Christie administration, and called him supremely qualified.

“The screening process is pretty good,” Bramnick said. “When we pick judges, normally they do OK before the judiciary [committee], because the process is pretty intense before you get there.”

Hoffman nevertheless has faced criticism for his role in a couple of contentious issues. One was the Christie administration’s deal that ultimately paid Exxon Mobil pennies on the dollar of what would’ve been a multibillion-dollar settlement for the state. But the show of support on Monday for the nominee was notable, including Johnathan Holloway, president of Rutgers University, where Hoffman most recently served as chief counsel.

The nominee got emotional when he spoke to his family, especially his wife, Mary June.

“You better hold it together because if you don’t hold it together I won’t hold it together,” he joked as both fought back tears. “Mary June you’ve given so much of yourself, so that I could feed my soul and quench my thirst to give back to this crazy state of ours. Everybody owes you a debt of gratitude, and I owe you all the love in my heart.”

Hoffman’s nomination is expected to get swift approval. Murphy said he hoped Hoffman would be confirmed before the state’s high court reconvenes in the fall.