According to a report on nj.com today, Governor Christie is withdrawing his nomination of Robert Hanna to the Supreme Court. Hanna and Governor Christie’s other Supreme Court nominee, Monmouth County Superior Court Judge David Bauman, both of whom were nominated in December 2012, were not called to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee for hearings. With the current Legislature set to end this month, it was unlikely that either nominee would get a hearing, with the result that both nominations would expire.
The way is now open for a compromise between the Governor and the Democratic-controlled Senate on the two open Supreme Court seats. Though a series of very experienced and highly qualified judges of the Appellate Division have been called up to fill the seats temporarily, and they have all served most ably, there is no substitute for actual Justices in those seats, as the Constitution contemplates.