Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey
New Jersey Supreme Court justice vacancy (December 2021)
| New Jersey Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| LaVecchia vacancy |
| Date: December 31, 2021 |
| Status: Seat filled |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: Rachel Wainer Apter |
| Date: March 15, 2021 |
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy (D) nominated Rachel Wainer Apter to the New Jersey Supreme Court on March 15, 2021.[1][2] New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Jaynee LaVecchia retired on December 31, 2021. LaVecchia's original retirement date was scheduled for August 2021.[3][4][5] On January 11, 2022, Gov. Murphy announced his intent to renominate Wainer Apter to the seat.[6] Wainer Apter is Gov. Murphy's second nominee to the seven-member supreme court. Wainer Apter was confirmed by the New Jersey State Senate on October 18, 2022.[7]
Under New Jersey law at the time of the vacancy, justices of the New Jersey Supreme Court are nominated by the governor in the event of a midterm vacancy. One week after the public notice was issued by the governor, the nominees had to pass the "advice and consent" of the New Jersey State Senate. Newly appointed judges would serve for seven years, after which they were permitted to be reappointed to serve until age 70.[8]
Ballotpedia has compiled the following resources on the process to fill the New Jersey Supreme Court vacancy:
- An overview of the appointee.
- An overview of the selection process.
- Noteworthy events that occurred during the nomination process.
- Excerpts from media coverage of the nomination process.
- An overview of the court following the vacancy.
- An overview of the justice who left office.
- A list of other state supreme court appointments in 2021.
The appointee
- See also: Rachel Wainer Apter
Rachel Wainer Apter has served as a director with the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights and as a counsel to the New Jersey Attorney General. Wainer Apter has worked as an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union.[1][2]
Wainer Apter was a law clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg from 2011 to 2012. Wainer Apter also clerked for federal judges Robert Katzmann and Jed Rakoff.[1]
Wainer Apter earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 2002. She earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2007.[2][9]
The selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in New Jersey
At the time of the vacancy, the court was composed of six justices and one chief justice. Justices of the New Jersey Supreme Court were nominated by the governor of the state. One week after the public notice was issued by the governor, the nominees had to pass the "advice and consent" of the New Jersey State Senate. After seven years of service on the bench, the governor could then determine whether to tenure the justice. Justices were selected to complete the partisan balance; the governor had the opportunity to appoint justices to have a one-seat advantage, but could go no further than that.[10]
Noteworthy events
- August 15, 2022: Chief Justice Stuart Rabner appointed senior presiding judges of the appellate division Clarkson Fisher, Jack Sabatino, and Douglas M. Fasciale to the court temporarily to fill three vacancies on the New Jersey Supreme Court.[11]
- January 3, 2022: Chief Justice Stuart Rabner appointed Jose L. Fuentes to the court temporarily to fill the vacancy. Fuentes' appointment expired on September 1, 2022.
Media coverage
This section includes excerpts from articles about the appointment process. Coverage of the process focused on the postponement of LaVecchia's retirement.
- David Wildstein, The New Jersey Globe (September 2, 2022):
| “ | The New Jersey Senate is expected to adjust its meeting schedule this month to fast track the expected nomination of Douglas M. Fasciale to the New Jersey Supreme Court, the New Jersey Globe has confirmed.
The agreement Murphy reached with State Sen. Holly Schepisi (R-River Vale) to end a 17-month standstill and release the nomination of Rachel Wainer Apter for another Supreme Court vacancy includes an agreement that Wainer Apter and Fasciale would be considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee – and things go well for them – by the full Senate at the same time.[12][13] |
” |
- David Wildstein, New Jersey Globe (July 28, 2021): "New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Jaynee LaVecchia has agreed to postpone her retirement date for a few months after the State Senate recessed until after the November general election without approving her replacement, Chief Justice Stuart Rabner said on Wednesday."[4]
- New Jersey Law Journal (July 28, 2021): "The longest serving female jurist on the New Jersey Supreme Court, Jaynee LaVecchia, will stay on the bench through the end of the year instead of retiring at the end of August as planned, due to the election cycle. Her presumed replacement–civil rights attorney Rachel Wainer Apter–won't get a confirmation hearing until after Nov. 2, with the Governor's Office and all 120 seats in the General Assembly and Senate in play this year, and lawmakers out campaigning in full force. That means the Senate Judiciary Committee and full Senate won't be able to review the associate justice nominee until sometime after Election Day."[5]
Makeup of the court
- See also: New Jersey Supreme Court
Justices
Following LaVecchia's retirement, the New Jersey Supreme Court included the following members:
| ■ Chief Justice Stuart Rabner | Appointed by Gov. Jon Corzine (D) in 2007 | |
| ■ Justice Fabiana Pierre-Louis | Appointed by Gov. Phil Murphy (D) in 2020 | |
| ■ Justice Barry Albin | Appointed by Gov. James McGreevey (D) in 2002 | |
| ■ Justice Anne Patterson | Appointed by Gov. Chris Christie (R) in 2010 | |
| ■ Justice Faustino J. Fernandez-Vina | Appointed by Gov. Chris Christie (R) in 2013 | |
| ■ Justice Lee A. Solomon | Appointed by Gov. Chris Christie (R) in 2014 |
About the court
Founded in 1776, the New Jersey Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort and has seven judgeships. The current chief of the court is Stuart Rabner.
About Justice LaVecchia
- See also: Jaynee LaVecchia
Justice LaVecchia joined the New Jersey Supreme Court in 2000. She was appointed to the court by Governor Christine Todd Whitman (R).
Before serving on the state supreme court, LaVecchia served as the New Jersey Commissioner of Banking and Insurance from August 24, 1998, until the time of her judicial appointment. She served as Law Division Director with the Department of Law and Public Safety from 1994 to 1998. She served as a director and as a chief administrative law judge for the Office of Administrative Law from 1989 to 1994. She served as an assistant counsel and as a deputy chief counsel with the Office of Counsel to Gov. Thomas Kean (R).[14]
LaVecchia earned a bachelor's degree from Douglass College in 1976 and earned a law degree from Rutgers School in 1979.[14]
Other state supreme court appointments in 2021
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2021
The following table lists vacancies on state supreme courts that opened in 2021. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2020.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 NJ.com, "Murphy picks civil rights attorney, former Ruth Bader Ginsburg clerk to join N.J. Supreme Court," March 15, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Press of Atlantic City, "Murphy announces state Supreme Court nominee, will join First Lady for NJ school visit later," March 15, 2021
- ↑ POLITICO, "LaVecchia retiring from state Supreme Court, giving Murphy appointment opportunity," March 8, 2021
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 New Jersey Globe, "LaVecchia postpones retirement as Senate stalls on Murphy Supreme Court pick," July 28, 2021
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Law.com, "LaVecchia delays retirement until end of 2021," July 28, 2021
- ↑ State of New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy, "Governor Murphy Announces Intention to Renominate Rachel Wainer Apter to Serve on the New Jersey Supreme Court," January 11, 2022
- ↑ NJ.com, "Depleted N.J. Supreme Court will get 2 justices after Senate confirms them, ending logjam," October 18, 2022
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: New Jersey," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Rachel Wainer Apter," accessed March 16, 2021
- ↑ Wikisource, "New Jersey Constitution of 1947," accessed March 9, 2021
- ↑ New Jersey Courts, "Order - Appellate Division Judges Fisher, Sabatino, and Fasciale Temporarily Assigned to the Supreme Court Effective September 1," August 15, 2022
- ↑ The New Jersey Globe, "Senate will change schedule to speed up Fasciale Supreme Court nomination," September 2, 2022
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 New Jersey Courts, "Justice Jaynee LaVecchia," archived March 9, 2021
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Federal courts:
Third Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of New Jersey • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of New Jersey
State courts:
New Jersey Supreme Court • New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division • New Jersey Superior Courts • New Jersey Municipal Courts • New Jersey Tax Court
State resources:
Courts in New Jersey • New Jersey judicial elections • Judicial selection in New Jersey
| |||||||
