Justice 4 Jersey: Fill Our Judicial Vacancies Now!
Justice 4 Jersey: Fill Our Judicial Vacancies Now!
The Issue
A significant number of judicial vacancies are depriving NJ's citizens of timely access to justice.
As of Friday, December 8, 2023 67 of the 463 superior court seats in New Jersey — more than 1 in 8 — are vacant. Trial dates have become exceedingly difficult to secure, and there’s more time than usual between routine hearings.
For the nearly sixty vacant positions, only twenty candidates nominated by the governor are at various stages in the vetting process (and a nomination is not a guarantee of approval). Heightening the crisis:
- A number of other judges will face mandatory retirement in the coming year;
- There is a significant backlog of cases (approximately 75,000 state-wide across all case types) that started accruing during the COVID-19 pandemic (and after a large number of mandatory judicial retirements at age 70)
Certain types of cases (like criminal law) have been prioritized over family law matters, leaving children and families in limbo for years awaiting trials and decisions.
A judicial shortage of this magnitude should not be happening anywhere, much less in a state that has the highest property taxes in the country.
Please sign and share this petition and consider reaching out to your senator and Governor Murphy to share your thoughts. Access a larger version of our issue summary and links to relevant articles.
Impacted by this issue? Please consider leaving a public comment about the toll it is taking on you (and those you care about). Want to share your story with a larger audience? Add contact information to your comment (so reporters and others can know where to reach you) or forward a brief statement to Jess@Miriamsheart.org.
The Child Advocacy Association of New Jersey is a non-partisan, 100% volunteer driven organization started to help advance safety and permanency for kids in the child welfare system. We will do our best to keep the information on this petition up to date, but please do not hesitate to reach out to us if you have updated information to share!
Learn more about CAANJ and #Justice4Jersey
The Issue
A significant number of judicial vacancies are depriving NJ's citizens of timely access to justice.
As of Friday, December 8, 2023 67 of the 463 superior court seats in New Jersey — more than 1 in 8 — are vacant. Trial dates have become exceedingly difficult to secure, and there’s more time than usual between routine hearings.
For the nearly sixty vacant positions, only twenty candidates nominated by the governor are at various stages in the vetting process (and a nomination is not a guarantee of approval). Heightening the crisis:
- A number of other judges will face mandatory retirement in the coming year;
- There is a significant backlog of cases (approximately 75,000 state-wide across all case types) that started accruing during the COVID-19 pandemic (and after a large number of mandatory judicial retirements at age 70)
Certain types of cases (like criminal law) have been prioritized over family law matters, leaving children and families in limbo for years awaiting trials and decisions.
A judicial shortage of this magnitude should not be happening anywhere, much less in a state that has the highest property taxes in the country.
Please sign and share this petition and consider reaching out to your senator and Governor Murphy to share your thoughts. Access a larger version of our issue summary and links to relevant articles.
Impacted by this issue? Please consider leaving a public comment about the toll it is taking on you (and those you care about). Want to share your story with a larger audience? Add contact information to your comment (so reporters and others can know where to reach you) or forward a brief statement to Jess@Miriamsheart.org.
The Child Advocacy Association of New Jersey is a non-partisan, 100% volunteer driven organization started to help advance safety and permanency for kids in the child welfare system. We will do our best to keep the information on this petition up to date, but please do not hesitate to reach out to us if you have updated information to share!
Learn more about CAANJ and #Justice4Jersey
The Decision Makers
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Petition created on April 14, 2023