Litigation

Political Conflict Embroils NJ Supreme Court

By Peter Hardin

Justice Roberto Rivera-Soto of the New Jersey Supreme Court is the target of a state Senate-passed resolution urging him to resign if the state Assembly doesn’t start impeachment proceedings. The resolution reflects a political fight over the court.

Justice Roberto Rivera-Soto pledged in December to abstain from further decisions on grounds the current makeup of the court is unconstitutional. In January he said he would no longer abstain completely, but would cast a vote if a temporary justice seated on the court did not influence a case’s outcome, the Associated Press reported.

At the center of the controversy is the temporary appointment, made by the bench’s chief justice (see earlier Gavel Grab post). The vacancy was created when Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, decided last year not to reappoint an incumbent justice, saying the court had not done enough to give the state constitution a strict reading. Senate Democrats have refused to consider Christie’s nomination of a successor.

“If the Legislature does nothing in response to the actions of Rivera-Soto, we will be abdicating our authority as an independent, coequal branch of government that is vested by the New Jersey Constitution with the power of impeachment,” said the resolution sponsor, Democratic state Sen. Nia Gill, according to a Newark Star-Ledger article.

Republican state Sen. Christopher “Kip” Bateman disagreed, saying, “For the Senate to consider this resolution would be tantamount to a judge declaring a defendant guilty upon arrest before any charges have been brought against him.” Senate Democrats led the resolution, and most Senate Republicans abstained form voting.

Justice Rivera-Soto is the most conservative jurist on the state’s high court, Fox News Latino reported, and its only Hispanic member. The New Jersey Assembly was not preparing impeachment proceedings, according to news reports. Justice Rivera-Soto has said he will not seek renomination in September.

Full post as published by The Gavel on February 18, 2011 (boomark / email).