Sherrill overhauls panel that vets New Jersey judicial nominees
Governor expands panel, replaces four Murphy appointees, names retired Justice Jaynee LaVecchia as chair
Gov. Mikie Sherrill has expanded and overhauled the panel that screens potential nominees to New Jersey’s courts, retaining three members selected by former Gov. Phil Murphy and replacing four others.
Retired Supreme Court Justice Jaynee LaVecchia, 71, will lead the eight-member Judicial Advisory Panel, which evaluates potential candidates for the New Jersey Superior Court and Supreme Court before the governor formally nominates them.
LaVecchia served on the Supreme Court from February 2000 through December 2021. She replaces former Chief Justice Deborah Poritz, 89, as chair.
Sherrill retained former Chief Justice James Zazzali, 89; former Justice Virginia Long, 84; and attorney John Keefe Jr. All three were appointed to the panel by Murphy.
Four Murphy appointees were not reappointed: Poritz; former Justices Stewart Pollock, 93, and John Wallace Jr., 84; and former Superior Court Judge Peter Doyne.
Joining LaVecchia as new members are former Justice Lee Solomon and retired Superior Court Judges Julio Mendez, Bonnie Mizdol and Charles Dortch.
Executive Order 22 increases the panel’s membership from seven to eight members and requires it to include at least five former judges. The panel may also include practicing attorneys, although they cannot simultaneously serve on the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Judicial and Prosecutorial Appointments Committee.
The chair is responsible for overseeing the panel and establishing its procedures for evaluating candidates.
The panel reviews potential nominees and advises the governor about their qualifications and fitness to serve. It does not make nominations or confirm judges.
In New Jersey, the governor nominates Superior Court and Supreme Court judges, but the appointments require approval from the state Senate. Sherrill’s order does not change that process or New Jersey’s unwritten tradition of “senatorial courtesy,” which allows senators to prevent certain nominees from advancing.
Those political negotiations have historically contributed to delays in filling judicial vacancies and are outside the advisory panel’s control.
The panel will screen candidates for vacancies that arise during Sherrill’s administration, including when she has to make her first appointment to the New Jersey Supreme Court.
The order took effect immediately.
Krystal Knapp is the founder, executive director, and publisher of The Jersey Vindicator and the founder of Planet Princeton. She has more than two decades of experience reporting in New Jersey, including 10 years at The Trenton Times, where she was the newsroom’s public records and computer-assisted reporting expert. Her work has been recognized by the New Jersey Press Association and the Center for Cooperative Media. You can reach her at Krystal AT jerseyvindicator.org.