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The Spectacle Blog
Should conservatives be concerned about Gov. Chris Christie’s picks to fill the two open seats on the N.J. Supreme Court? Steve Lonegan, who heads about the state chapter of Americans for Prosperity (AFP), has offered up a reasonable and balanced assessment. Lonegan, a former mayor who challenged Christie from the right in the 2009 Republican gubernatorial primary, is “open but skeptical.” That’s fair.
Gov. Christie is clearly playing the diversity game and that does not necessarily mean his two nominees are not qualified. But it is worth recalling that our own Ronald Reagan also played the diversity game back in the early 80s’ when he placed Sandra Day O’Connor on the Supreme Court instead nominating Judge Robert Bork. The diversity card came back to bite the conservative movement in a number of ways. As I report here today for The American Spectator, it was O’Connor who upheld the use of race in admissions in the Grutter v. Bollinger ruling involving the University of Michigan Law School.
Gov. Christie does deserve credit and praise for challenging the N.J. Supreme Court’s activism and for making judicial overreach a major theme of his administration. (For a fuller explanation, please see last year’s “Supreme Confidence.”)
But elevation of “diversity” above merit could have unsettling policy ramifications.
Here is Lonegan’s full statement:
With two vacancies to fill on the state Supreme Court, Gov. Christie has an historic opportunity to steer the court in a new direction and restore the proper balance of powers to state government. Four decades of unrestrained judicial activism and social engineering from the state’s high court has done untold damage to the state’s fiscal condition, resulted in an ever-escalating tax burden, and undermined the very fabric of communities across the state.
The appointment of conservative, originalist justices to the state Supreme Court is a critical step in restoring the rule of law, putting New Jersey back on a path to prosperity, and completing the ‘New Jersey comeback’ the governor touts.
While I am open to considering the nominations of Mayor Harris and Executive Assistant Attorney General Kwon, I remain skeptical for neither of these nominees has served on the bench nor has a record suitable to proper vetting of a potential Supreme Court Justice.
At first blush, it appears these nominees may have been chosen more for their demographic profile than their philosophical leaning and if that’s the case, New Jersey taxpayers will have lost a great opportunity we thought would happen when Jon Corzine was defeated.
View all comments (5) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Kevin Mooney
http://spectator.org/blog/2012/01/25/open-but-skeptical-toward-chri
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Dai Alanye | 1.25.12 @ 5:38PM
But Christie talks so tough! I can't believe he's just another PC RINO. (Not much, I can't.)
Paul Windels| 1.25.12 @ 5:38PM
I think it's a bit unfair to criticize CC's nominees for not having served on the bench when one of the big problems with New Jersey was some of the atrocious court decisions coming from its bench. What is significant here is that both nominees worked for CC when CC was US Atty. He knows them and their qualifications based on personal experience. He was their boss.
The big problem with the New Jersey Supreme Court over the last three decades has been its propensity to invent law rather than to apply the law as is. CC has chosen professional lawyers and I would expect that he has chosen lawyers who understand the proper role of the courts and who aren't wannabe legislators. That said, trust but verify.
Bob K.| 1.25.12 @ 7:25PM
Political Crony appointments! Even worse than Politically Correct appointments! Now they owe CC.
CC and Company! (Apologies to Joe Namath and Ann-Margaret.) Politically connected outlaw attorney bikers!
Christy is fat enough to be a biker!
Ann Banisher| 1.25.12 @ 8:25PM
The only ones you generally find that have a problem with gender & ethnicity are the democrats. They squealed like a stuck pig over Clarence Thomas and sabotaged Miguel Estrada because of race and tried to do the same to Janice Rogers Brown. If they are principled jurists, it is the perfect move. Nothing p!sses of a liberal like a conservative woman or minority.
George| 2.8.12 @ 8:06PM
Governor Christie is the great Youtube governor, people swallow an awful lot and don't see the truth.
The Governor said he wants to cut income taxes 10%, but 100% of the state income tax goes to property tax relief. Today NJ property taxes average $7800.00, so if you cut the income tax, the property taxes will rise.
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Read this http://www.shorenewstoday.com/.....ocrat.html ". . .Christie now wants a 10 percent income tax cut. This is another sick joke.
All income tax money goes to the state’s Property Tax Relief Fund. Two-thirds of that fund pays for schools in 32 of the 586 towns in the state. In two years, Christie failed to change that deal. So any cut in the income tax just means even less state money – and higher property taxes – for Republican towns and suburbs.
In the past 30 years, bad and very political rulings by the New Jersey Supreme Court allowed $160 billion of state debt without voter approval, forced billions of state money to bail out Democratic politicians in 32 mismanaged towns, and forced low-income housing into every town. Christie could have turned this around by picking three strong, principled conservatives for the Supreme Court. But he used tribal affiliation, not merit and principle, to make his picks: a woman, an immigrant, and one justice who is both black and gay."
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From the 22nd paragraph in this WSJ piece http://online.wsj.com/article/.....#printMode
". . . Mr. Christie's ability to fill two new vacancies on the state's seven-member supreme court. For years, the infamous Abbott decisions have had the courts essentially adopting the role of legislators and dictating how much taxpayers must spend on various school districts.
This week Mr. Christie nominated Assistant State Attorney General Philip Kwon and Chatham, N.J., Mayor Bruce Harris to fill the seats. It's unclear what they think about Abbott, and Mr. Christie says he didn't ask them about specific legal issues. But the governor clearly believes that the court has been seizing powers that belong to the legislature and the executive branch. "
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Before Bush nominated Justice Samuel Alito, he tried to put in Harriet Miers.
Chrisite should remove both his choices now, and then he can truly say he saved New Jersey taxpayers bills.