NJ Senate Judiciary Committee rejects Supreme Court nominee
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June 1, 2012
New Jersey: Yesterday the New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee voted 7 to 6 to reject Governor Chris Christie's Supreme Court nominee, Bruce Harris. Harris was the third individual nominated to the New Jersey Supreme Court by Christie, and the second rejected. In March, the committee also voted against the nomination of Phil Kwon. [1]
Currently, the composition of the committee is eight Democrats and five Republicans. Democratic Senator Brian Stack was the only yes vote from the party. [2]
Some Democrats took issue with the nominee's pre-recusal on any case involving marriage equality. Harris, who is openly gay, insisted that he was able to remain impartial on the topic during the hearing. This led some Democrats to imply that a political deal had been struck between the nominee and the governor, an accusation that Harris firmly rejected. Also at issue was Harris' lack of courtroom experience. [2]
The rejection of the nominee means that Governor Christie still has two vacancies on the seven-member court to fill. Since taking office, Christie has had a difficult time getting his nominees through committee. For more information on this, visit: Judges appointed by Chris Christie.
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| This article was written by Katy Farrell, the Editor of Judgepedia. She can be reached at kfarrell@judgepedia.org. |
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