And so it begins, Gov. Christie aims to remake the NJ State Supreme Court

Anybody here remember Peter Verniero? He was appointed to NJ State Supreme Court by Governor Christine Todd Whitman. When his initial 7 year term was up then Governor Jim McGreevey made it known that Justice Verniero would not be reappointed. Rather than wage a public battle Mr. Verniero did the honorable thing and stepped aside. Back then everyone agreed that it was Gov. McGreevey's perogative to appoint whomever he wished to the court.

Fast foward to yesterday. You'd think the sky was falling! Governor Chris Christie announced that he will not reappoint Justice John Wallace whose term expires May 20^th. The Democrats are falling over themselves in apoplexy as a result.

Gimme a break.

There's a reason our State Constitution provides for an initial 7 year term before renomination to a lifetime appointment on the bench. And that reason is to evaluate the performance and tenure of the Justice.

The NJ State Supreme Court has a dubious reputation as the most activist high court in the nation. Their meddling in legislative affairs, coupled with a single-minded devotion to assuming that more money will solve every problem, has led New Jersey to the brink of bankruptcy. Time after time this court has ordered the other supposedly co-equal branches of the government to do things their way or else.

Think back to July 1976 when our nation's bicentennial celebration was in full swing. The NJ State Supreme Court ordered the state legislature to enact an income tax. They closed the schools until they got their way.

The legislature and Governor Tom Kean rolled over and played dead.

And the court felt the radiance of its power, and it felt good. They went from ordering the imposition of the income tax to micromanaging the disbursement of the proceeds, specifying non-negotiable dollar amounts by school district. They forced the legislature to create a permanent "opposition" law clinic at Rutgers whose sole purpose was to petition the court for more and more school funding.

Activism begat activism. Soon they went from throwing money at schools to throwing money at "affordable" housing. And then more money for schools, not just to run them but to build palatial new campuses replete with olympic sized indoor swimming pools and state-of-the-art TV production facilities for the amusement of sixth graders.

Interpretation of the law gave way to imposition of social policy. The Constitutional requirement to educate children between the ages of 5 and 18 was elasticized into a mandate to provide "free" pre-school to 3 and 4 year olds. The court didn't concern itself with trivialities like where the money would come from to pay for their utopian schemes. They just ruled via diktat and woe unto him who stood in their way.

Until now.

Finally we have a governor who is willing to stand up to the court. The only way to stop their judicial activism is to remove the activists from the bench. The governor will have the opportunity to appoint 3 more members of the court before he is up for re-election. In taking this first step he makes clear his intention to reshape its makeup and rein in its overarching reach.

State Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford) has brazenly announced his intention to block the nomination of Anne Patterson to replace Justice Wallace. Sweeney controls the legislative agenda so he can refuse to authorize confirmation hearings for Ms. Patterson. He says Christie has "politicized" the court by declining to reappoint Wallace.

Of course when it comes to politics Steve Sweeney and his cronies are masters of deception. They have held the majority and the governor's mansion for decades. It was their abrogation of responsibility which put us into this mess in the first place. The legislature failed to act decisively and the court stepped into the resultant power vacuum.

The balance of power has now shifted. And it's shifted back to the people who actually pay the bills. The citizens sent two very strong messages, first by electing Christie and then with the overwhelming rejection of school budgets last month. Steve Sweeney might believe he has the upper hand for the moment but in reality how long can he allow court vacancies to stand? There will be two more next year, and then another in 2012.

Elections have consequences Mr. Sweeney. And a consequence of the next election might very well be your ticket to the unemployment line. Governor Christie is determined to lead New Jersey down the path of fiscal sanity. It's time to follow his lead or get out of the way.

Posted at 12:25 by Chris Wysocki   [/nj_politics]   Comments | Perm Link |
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