Michael Drewniak, Press Secretary for the Office of the Governor, issued the following statement on the suggestion from Senate Democrats that they will refuse to hold hearings on the Governor’s nominee to the state Supreme Court:
“The Governor has fulfilled his constitutional duties by making a judicial nomination; the Senate’s constitutional duty is to provide ‘advise and consent’ through a hearing for the nominee, followed by an up-or-down vote in the full Senate. That’s all we ask. So, we would be surprised if the Senate President is willing to simply abandon the New Jersey Constitution and refuse to consider a qualified judicial nominee. That would truly be a historic and unfortunate precedent.
“Also, the Constitution clearly states that all justices of the Supreme Court are appointed to an initial seven-year term – not automatic lifetime tenure. The framers of our state Constitution did that for a reason, and we have to believe that the Senate President understands and respects that.”
