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New Jersey Supreme Court justice vacancy (August 2024)
| New Jersey Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| Solomon vacancy |
| Date: August 17, 2024 |
| Status: Seat filled |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: John Jay Hoffman |
| Date: June 10, 2024 |
Governor Phil Murphy (D) appointed John Jay Hoffman to the New Jersey Supreme Court. Hoffman replaced justice Lee A. Solomon, who retired on August 17, 2024, due to reaching New Jersey's mandatory retirement age. Hoffman is Gov. Murphy's fifth nominee to the seven-member supreme court.
In New Jersey, state supreme court justices are selected through direct gubernatorial appointment. Justices are appointed directly by the governor without the use of a nominating commission.[1] There are five states that use this selection method. To read more about the gubernatorial appointment of judges, click here.
Vacancies on the court are filled through gubernatorial appointment. The governor's nominee must be confirmed by the state Senate.[2]
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.
- 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 2024.
The appointee
- See also: John Jay Hoffman
Prior to his appointment as New Jersey Attorney General, Hoffman served as executive assistant attorney general under former New Jersey Attorney General Jeff Chiesa (R). Additionally, he has served as director of the Division of Investigations for the New Jersey Comptroller’s Office, as an assistant United States attorney for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey and as a trial attorney for the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. He has also worked as an attorney in private practice. While he was an assistant U.S. attorney, he focused on economic and white collar criminal prosecutions.[3][4][5]
The selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in New Jersey
In New Jersey, state supreme court justices are selected through direct gubernatorial appointment. Justices are appointed directly by the governor without the use of a nominating commission.[6] There are five states that use this selection method. To read more about the gubernatorial appointment of judges, click here.
Makeup of the court
- See also: New Jersey Supreme Court
Justices
Following Solomon's retirement, the New Jersey Supreme Court included the following members:
| ■ Douglas M. Fasciale | Appointed by Gov. Phil Murphy (D) in 2022 | |
| ■ Michael Noriega | Appointed by Gov. Phil Murphy (D) in 2023 | |
| ■ Anne Patterson | Appointed by Gov. Chris Christie (R) in 2010 | |
| ■ Fabiana Pierre-Louis | Appointed by Gov. Phil Murphy (D) in 2020 | |
| ■ Rachel Wainer Apter | Appointed by Gov. Phil Murphy (D) in 2021, and confirmed in 2022 | |
| ■ Stuart Rabner | Appointed by Gov. Jon Corzine (D) in 2007 |
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 Solomon
- See also: Lee A. Solomon
Solomon was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1975, he received a bachelor's degree from Muhlenberg College. He received a J.D. from Widener University School of Law in 1978.[7]
From 1991 to 1996, Solomon was a Republican member of the New Jersey General Assembly. After that, he served as Camden County Prosecutor. In 2002, then-New Jersey U.S. Attorney Chris Christie appointed Solomon as deputy U.S. attorney for the southern vicinages of Camden and Trenton. Acting Gov. Richard Codey (D) nominated Solomon to the New Jersey Superior Court, and he joined the court in January 2006. Governor Chris Christie (R) appointed Solomon as president of the Board of Public Utilities in February 2010. Christie again nominated Solomon to the New Jersey Superior Court in November 2011 and to the New Jersey Supreme Court in 2014.[7][8]
Other state supreme court appointments in 2024
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2024
The following table lists vacancies on state supreme courts that opened in 2024. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2023.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Note: In New Hampshire, a judicial selection commission has been established by executive order. The commission's recommendations are not binding.
- ↑ New Jersey Legislature, "New Jersey State Constitution 1947," accessed August 27, 2021 (Article V Section I)
- ↑ Office of the Attorney General, "Biography - John Jay Hoffman," accessed August 9, 2013
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namednamed - ↑ NJToday.net, "Hoffman tabbed as acting attorney general," June 10, 2013
- ↑ Note: In New Hampshire, a judicial selection commission has been established by executive order. The commission's recommendations are not binding.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 New Jersey Courts, "Justice Lee. A. Solomon," accessed July 25, 2021
- ↑ NJ.com, "Lee Solomon to leave BPU, returning to N.J. Superior Court, Hanna will replace him," November 10, 2011
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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
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