The state may finally be turning the page on the judicial vacancy crisis. As of Monday, all trials have resumed statewide after Chief Justice Stuart Rabner ended the suspension of civil and matrimonial trials in Passaic County, which has been in place since July.
A series of court moratoriums have been in place over the last two years due to a shortage of judges on the bench. Now, recent legislative confirmations put the vacancy level at its lowest since before the pandemic, now down to 39 empty seats from the record high of 78 in May, 2022.
Still, New Jersey State Bar Association president Tim McGoughran said that doesn’t mean the work is over.
“This judicial crisis has been going on for the last three years,” McGoughran told NJ Spotlight News. “Progress has been made, and it’s been 24 judges that have been confirmed this year, so it’s really been a great start.”
