Three judges named temporarily to N.J. Supreme Court, as judicial vacancies persist

Three state judges will temporarily serve on the New Jersey Supreme Court this fall under an order Chief Justice Stuart Rabner issued Monday.

Superior Court Judges Clarkson S. Fisher Jr., Jack M. Sabatino, and Douglas M. Fasciale — senior presiding judges in the state’s appellate division — will begin serving on the state’s highest bench on Sept. 1.

The Supreme Court hasn’t had a full bench of confirmed justices since Dec. 31, when Justice Jaynee LaVecchia retired. Justices Faustino J. Fernandez-Vina and Barry Albin left the court this year when they hit the mandatory retirement age of 70, and they have not been replaced.

After LaVecchia in March 2021 announced she would retire, Gov. Phil Murphy picked North Jersey attorney Rachel Wainer Apter to replace her. But that nomination has languished, blocked by Sen. Holly Schepisi’s invocation of senatorial courtesy (Wainer Apter lives in Schepisi’s district).

With that replacement stalled, Rabner assigned another state judge, Jose L. Fuentes, to temporarily replace LaVecchia. But Fuentes will hit his mandatory retirement age on Sept. 1, and if he is not replaced, the court would be left without a quorum at the start of its 2022-23 term.

With the new appointments, the partisan split of the court will be 4-3. Rabner, Justice Fabiana Pierre-Louis, Fisher, and Sabatino are Democrats, and Solomon, Patterson, and Fasciale are Republicans.

The judicial vacancy crisis has afflicted courthouses across the state, backlogging cases and prompting some counties to stop hearing certain kinds of cases altogether. Rabner in May warned the vacancies — which then stood at 75 — had hit a historic high.

Lawmakers last week confirmed four state judges during a rare summer return to Trenton, bringing the total number of remaining vacancies down to about 60. Rabner has said the court could operate sustainably with as many as 30 vacancies.