Attorney sues to move trial delayed by NJ’s judge shortage

New Jersey remains in the middle of a judicial vacancy crisis, with top court officials warning lawmakers the crisis is threatening the court’s ability to function.

Tyler Hall is an attorney who has been waiting several years for a wrongful death case to be tried in court. Because of the shortage of judges in the state, Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner halted indefinitely all civil trials in six counties due to the lack of judges. The wrongful death case was to be heard in one of those counties. Hall is now suing to move the case so it can be heard elsewhere.

At a hearing of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, Judge Glenn Grant, who serves as administrative director of the New Jersey Courts, urged the other two branches of government to work together quickly to fill the judicial vacancies, stressing that in many ways, it’s already too late.

In a statement, the governor’s office said, “Since Governor Murphy took office in 2018, 116 judges have been nominated and confirmed, while 20 additional Superior Court nominees currently await Senate confirmation. Notably, 9 of the pending 20 nominations are for the vicinages that are currently facing suspensions of civil and matrimonial trials.”

Please note this article originally appeared in NJ Spotlight News on April 19, 2023.