"Be careful how you carry out your task of judging"

by: Jason Springer

Fri May 07, 2010 at 03:30:00 PM EDT

Whether or not Justice Wallace is replaced on the court with Governor Christie's nominee, there are many who believe that a message is clearly being sent. Former Chief Justice Deborah Poritz criticized Governor Christie, saying judicial term limits are there to remove judges who have proven unqualified:

"By doing this through the tenure process, I think the governor sends a different signal," she said. "The signal is be careful how you carry out your task of judging because that may affect whether you get tenure or not. And that affects the independence of the judiciary."

Assembly Minority Leader DeCroce was critical of Poritz, but other non-partisan onlookers have been critical as well. The State Bar Association as Rosi noted in the roundup, also weighed in with sentiment along these lines:

I am here to sound an alarm. As we stand at this precipice today, the independence of our courts is in jeopardy.
We have entered a phase when judges of this state may begin to fear political retribution depending on how they decide a case. And the citizens of this state may from this day forward fear their disputes will be decided by partisan political philosophies and not the unbiased application of the law.

And the past president of the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey, a former trustee of the New Jersey State Bar Association himself was critical of the Governor's actions and rationale:

What troubles Christie is not Wallace's qualifications for reappointment; his credentials are impeccable. What the governor finds bothersome, for no good reason, is that the court is not deciding cases in the way Christie would like them decided. So what to do? Refuse reappointment to a deserving jurist and use him as the surrogate for all you dislike about the court, even though the justice was not even on the court when many of the decisions you disfavor were rendered.

Maybe they missed all those good stories about the Governor's move too. Or maybe they just actually understand the consequences of Christie's actions.

Jason Springer :: "Be careful how you carry out your task of judging"