New Jersey Supreme Court
| New Jersey Supreme Court |
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| Court Information |
| Justices: 7 |
| Founded: 1776 |
| Location: Trenton, New Jersey |
| Salary |
| Associates: $226,292[1] |
| Judicial Selection |
| Method: Direct gubernatorial appointment |
| Term: Initial term of 7 years; until age 70 upon reappointment |
| Active justices |
| Douglas M. Fasciale, John J. Hoffman, Michael Noriega, Anne Patterson, Fabiana Pierre-Louis, Stuart Rabner, Rachel Wainer Apter |
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.
As of October 2024, six judges were appointed by a Democratic governor, and one by a Republican governor.
The New Jersey Supreme Court meets in the Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex in Trenton, New Jersey.[2] The court holds an annual term with dates set by the chief justice.[3]
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.[4] There are five states that use this selection method. To read more about the gubernatorial appointment of judges, click here.
Jurisdiction
The New Jersey Supreme Court is an appellate court with no original jurisdiction. The court may hear appeals in cases involving constitutional questions, in cases where an appellate division judge dissented from the court's decision, in cases involving capital punishment, in cases where the court grants certification, and in other cases as provided by the law.[5]
The supreme court may make decisions during the state's redistricting process if the state redistricting commission cannot reach a decision. The court also has administrative power over the state's courts and attorneys.[6]
The following text from Article VI, Sections II and V of the New Jersey Constitution covers the jurisdiction of the court:[7]
| “ |
1. [...] 2. The Supreme Court shall exercise appellate jurisdiction in the last resort in all causes provided in this Constitution. 3. The Supreme Court shall make rules governing the administration of all courts in the State and, subject to the law, the practice and procedure in all such courts. The Supreme Court shall have jurisdiction over the admission to the practice of law and the discipline of persons admitted. [...] 1. Appeals may be taken to the Supreme Court: (a) In causes determined by the appellate division of the Superior Court involving a question arising under the Constitution of the United States or this State; (b) In causes where there is a dissent in the Appellate Division of the Superior Court; (c) In capital causes; (d) On certification by the Supreme Court to the Superior Court and, where provided by rules of the Supreme Court, to the inferior courts; and (e) In such causes as may be provided by law. 2. Appeals may be taken to the Appellate Division of the Superior Court from the law and chancery divisions of the Superior Court and in such other causes as may be provided by law. 3. The Supreme Court and the Appellate Division of the Superior Court may exercise such original jurisdiction as may be necessary to the complete determination of any cause on review. 4. Prerogative writs are superseded and, in lieu thereof, review, hearing and relief shall be afforded in the Superior Court, on terms and in the manner provided by rules of the Supreme Court, as of right, except in criminal causes where such review shall be discretionary.[8] |
” |
Justices
The table below lists the current justices of the New Jersey Supreme Court, their political party, and when they assumed office.
| Office | Name | Party | Date assumed office |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey Supreme Court | Douglas M. Fasciale | Nonpartisan | October 21, 2022 |
| New Jersey Supreme Court | John J. Hoffman | Nonpartisan | October 2, 2024 |
| New Jersey Supreme Court | Michael Noriega | Nonpartisan | June 30, 2023 |
| New Jersey Supreme Court | Anne Patterson | Nonpartisan | September 1, 2011 |
| New Jersey Supreme Court | Fabiana Pierre-Louis | Nonpartisan | September 1, 2020 |
| New Jersey Supreme Court | Rachel Wainer Apter | Nonpartisan | October 21, 2022 |
| New Jersey Supreme Court Chief Justice | Stuart Rabner | Nonpartisan | June 29, 2007 |
Judicial selection
- See also: Judicial selection in New Jersey
The seven justices of the New Jersey Supreme Court are selected by gubernatorial appointment. The governor's nominee must be confirmed by the New Jersey state Senate.[9][10]
Justices serve an initial term of seven years after appointment. If renominated by the governor and confirmed for reappointment by the Senate, they may serve on the court until they reach the mandatory retirement age of 70.[9][10]
Qualifications
To be eligible to serve on the supreme court, a person must have been admitted to practice law in New Jersey for at least 10 years.[10]
Chief justice
The chief justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court is selected by gubernatorial appointment. The position of chief justice is a specific seat on the court rather than a temporary leadership position.[10]
Vacancies
Vacancies on the court are filled through gubernatorial appointment. The governor's nominee must be confirmed by the state Senate.[11]
The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The salary of the chief justice may be higher than an associate justice.
- ↑ New Jersey Courts, "Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex," accessed August 30, 2021
- ↑ New Jersey Courts, "Rules Governing the Courts of the State of New Jersey," accessed August 30, 2021 (Rule 1:30)
- ↑ Note: In New Hampshire, a judicial selection commission has been established by executive order. The commission's recommendations are not binding.
- ↑ Ballotpedia,"New Jersey Constitution," accessed June 22, 2024
- ↑ Ballotpedia,"New Jersey Constitution," accessed June 22, 2024
- ↑ New Jersey Legislature, "New Jersey State Constitution 1947," accessed August 30, 2021
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 New Jersey Courts, "The New Jersey Courts | A guide to the judicial process," accessed August 27, 2021
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 New Jersey Legislature, "New Jersey State Constitution 1947," accessed August 27, 2021 (Article VI Section II)
- ↑ New Jersey Legislature, "New Jersey State Constitution 1947," accessed August 27, 2021 (Article V Section I)
- ↑ New Jersey Courts, "Annual Reports," accessed October 5, 2022
- ↑ New Jersey Courts, "Annual Report of the New Jersey Courts - Court Year 2021-2022," accessed September 25, 2024
- ↑ New Jersey Courts, "Annual Report of the New Jersey Courts - Court Year 2020-2021," accessed September 25, 2024
- ↑ New Jersey Courts, "Annual Report of the New Jersey Courts: Court Year 2018 - 2019," accessed August 30, 2021 (page 11)
- ↑ New Jersey Courts, "Annual Report of the New Jersey Courts: Court Year 2017 - 2018," accessed September 19, 2019 (page 11)
- ↑ New Jersey Courts, "Annual Report of the New Jersey Courts 2016-2017," accessed September 19, 2019 (page 6)
- ↑ New Jersey Courts, "Annual Report of the New Jersey Courts 2015-2016," accessed September 19, 2019 (page 8)
- ↑ New Jersey Courts, "Annual Report of the New Jersey Courts 2014-2015," accessed September 19, 2019 (page 8)
- ↑ New Jersey Courts, "Annual Report of the New Jersey Courts 2013-2014," accessed September 19, 2019 (page 8)
- ↑ New Jersey Courts, "Annual Report of the New Jersey Courts 2012-2013," accessed September 19, 2019 (page 8)
- ↑ New Jersey Courts, "New Jersey Judiciary Annual Report 2011-2012," accessed September 19, 2019 (page 5)
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 Disposition statistics not available
- ↑ New Jersey Courts, "Annual Report 2010-2011," accessed September 19, 2019 (page 9)
- ↑ New Jersey Courts, "New Jersey Courts Annual Report 2009-2010," accessed September 19, 2019 (page 11)
- ↑ New Jersey Courts, "New Jersey Courts Annual Report 2008-2009," accessed September 19, 2019 (page 7)
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 New Jersey Courts, "New Jersey Courts Annual Report 2007-2008," accessed September 19, 2019 (page 7)
- ↑ An Indeterminate score indicates that there is either not enough information about the justice’s partisan affiliations or that our research found conflicting partisan affiliations.
- ↑ The Court Balance Score is calculated by finding the average partisan Confidence Score of all justices on a state supreme court. For example, if a state has justices on the state supreme court with Confidence Scores of 4, -2, 2, 14, -2, 3, and 4, the Court Balance is the average of those scores: 3.3. Therefore, the Confidence Score on the court is Mild Republican. The use of positive and negative numbers in presenting both Confidence Scores and Court Balance Scores should not be understood to that either a Republican or Democratic score is positive or negative. The numerical values represent their distance from zero, not whether one score is better or worse than another.
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
- ↑ The Washington Post, "New Jersey Supreme Court hands Chris Christie a big victory," June 9, 2015
- ↑ 32.0 32.1 Rutgers, "Burgos v. State of New Jersey," June 9, 2015
- ↑ NJ.com, "U.S. Supreme Court ruling on blood tests in DWI cases must apply to some past cases in N.J., high court says," May 5, 2015
- ↑ Justia, "New Jersey v. Adkins," May 4, 2015
- ↑ New Jersey Courts, "Order – Appellate Division Judges Fisher, Sabatino, and Fasciale Temporarily Assigned to the Supreme Court Effective September 1." August 15, 2022
- ↑ New Jersey Monitor, "Three judges named temporarily to N.J. Supreme Court, as judicial vacancies persist," August 15, 2022
- ↑ New Jersey Globe, "Justices pick Wallace as congressional redistricting tiebreaker," August 6, 2021
- ↑ New Jersey Globe, "N.J. Supreme Court will pick tiebreaker on congressional redistricting," July 15, 2021
- ↑ New Jersey Globe, "Rabner wants to punt on tiebreaker, asks parties to find a consensus candidate," July 20, 2021
- ↑ New Jersey Globe, "Who will the Supreme Court pick as the congressional redistricting tiebreaker? 15 questions — and answers — about what comes next," July 16, 2021
- ↑ New Jersey Courts, Code of Judicial Conduct, accessed June 30, 2015
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: New Jersey, Removal of Judges," accessed June 30, 2015
- ↑ Northwestern Kellog,"An Introduction to the Legal History of Colonial New Jersey," accessed June 22, 2024
- ↑ Hein Online,"The Early Constitutions of New Jersey," accessed June 22, 2024
- ↑ New Jersey Courts,"Overview of the Supreme Court," accessed June 22, 2024
- ↑ Hein Online,"The Early Constitutions of New Jersey," accessed June 22, 2024
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State,"1844 State Constitution," accessed June 22, 2024
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State,"Judiciary Branch," accessed June 22, 2024
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State,"Judiciary Branch," accessed June 22, 2024
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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