Are NJ residents being 'denied justice' because of judge shortage?

The presidents of the bar associations in Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren counties are asking Gov. Phil Murphy to nominate more Superior Court judges to avoid residents "being denied justice."

In the three counties that make up Vicinage 13, all divorce and civil trials in Superior Court have been suspended because of a lack of judges.

"This situation is unacceptable and unnecessary," according to the letter signed by Steven Warner, president of the Somerset County Bar Association, Patrick Heller, president of the Hunterdon County Bar Association, and Kelly Shelton, president of the Warren County Bar Association.

The letter was also sent to Senate President Nicholas Scutari and Sen. Brian Stack, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. In New Jersey, Superior Court judges are not elected but are nominated by the governor and confirmed by the Senate.

At the beginning of the year, Vicinage 13 only had 70% of its judgeships filled.

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The suspension of matrimonial and civil trials ordered by Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner meant, according to the letter, "citizens are prevented from obtaining divorces, resolving custody disputes, child support issues (in Family Court) and civil disputes greatly affecting individuals in personal injury actions and those involving commercial entities (in Civil Court)."

"The situation is unacceptable and unnecessary," the bar presidents wrote.

The legislative session ends at the end of June when the state's fiscal year ends, and there is usually a rush of gubernatorial nominations rushed through the conformation process, which includes a hearing before the Judiciary Committee and a vote by the full Senate.

The bar association presidents say, "there are many qualified candidates ready, willing and able to serve as judges."

But if Murphy does not make nominations and the Senate does not confirm the nominees, residents "will continue to be denied justice and equal protection under the law until at least late fall," the bar association presidents wrote. "This is unfair to our citizens."

According to a statement from Murphy's office, the governor "remains committed to working with the Senate to ensure the vacancies in New Jersey’s courts are filled in a timely and urgent manner."

Murphy has nominated 30 candidates for judgeships that are awaiting action by the Senate.

If the Senate confirms all 30 pending nominations by the end of June, the current number of 68 vacancies could almost be cut in half.

Those nominations included candidates for four out of five open seats in Vicinage 13 and four out of six open seats in Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem counties. Murphy has also nominated for the three open seats in Morris and Sussex counties.

The Senate has confirmed 19 judges this year. Of those confirmed, one — Dalya Youssef — was in Hunterdon, Somerset and Warren counties, and four were in Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem counties.

The shortage of judges is not unique to these areas.

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Stephanie Frangos Hagan, a family law attorney in Morristown, told NorthJersey.com in April, this is the “worst backlog I've seen in my entire career” of legal cases. Trial dates have been set months away — and even years — for people trying to resolve their differences and secure divorces.

Delays are being seen in all sorts of legal cases across New Jersey's state court system. The delays are due in large part to an extensive backlog of cases. The backlog, which currently stands at more than 75,000 cases statewide, according to the state courts system, is the result of a judicial system still playing catch-up after the pandemic. New Jersey is also contending with a historic number of vacancies on judicial benches.

In February, Rabner suspended civil and divorce trials in two parts of the state.

Rabner said in a statement at the time that “because of the current high number of judicial vacancies,” trials will be suspended in Vicinage 13, which comprises Hunterdon, Somerset and Warren counties, and in Vicinage 15, which covers Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem counties.

In the past three years, the courts statewide have had an average of more than 50 vacancies, Rabner said. Combined with the impact of the pandemic, that has led to “delays in handling individual cases and substantial increases in backlog," he said. The number of vacancies should be no higher than 25 or 30 "to be able to best serve the public," he said.

The high number of vacancies is largely due to retirements because of the mandatory retirement age of 70. Those, along with COVID-19 restrictions on the courts, helped create a massive backlog across the state's Superior Court vicinages.

Some have suggested that the mandatory retirement age be raised to 75. Judges older than 70 can be recalled to the bench for brief periods until they reach the age of 80.

The annual salary for judges in 2023 is $200,163.

According to a statement from Murphy's office, the governor "remains committed to working with the Senate to ensure the vacancies in New Jersey’s courts are filled in a timely and urgent manner."

Murphy has nominated 30 candidates that have been submitted to the Senate and are awaiting votes.

If the Senate confirms all 30 pending nominations by the end of June, the current number of 68 vacancies could almost be cut in half.

Those nominations included candidates for four out of five open seats in Hunterdon, Somerset, Warren and four out of six open seats in Cumberland, Gloucester, Salem.  He has also nominated for the three open seats in Morris and Sussex.

The State Senate has confirmed 19 judges this year. Of those confirmed one - Dalya Youssef -was from Hunterdon, Somerset, and Warren, and four were from Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem counties.

The Governor is hopeful that these qualified nominees will be swiftly confirmed to build on the progress that has been made. If the Senate confirms all 30 pending nominations by the end of June, the current number of 68 vacancies could almost be cut in half.

Contributing: NorthJersey.com staff writer Katie Sobko

Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com

Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account.