Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli tonight slammed Gov. Phil Murphy’s choice of Rachel Wainer Apter, a former staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, for a seat on the New Jersey Supreme Court.
“Apparently for Governor Murphy, it’s not enough for the Democrats to control all branches of government in New Jersey,” said Ciattarelli, Murphy’s presumptive opponent in the November general election. “He feels the need to lurch our court even further to the left instead of finding a moderate middle ground. Murphy’s nominee is an inexperienced activist who will unfairly legislate from the bench.”
Wainer Apter was Murphy’s choice to head the state Division of Civil Rights in 2018. The Harvard Law School graduate clerked for three federal judges, including U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
While Democrats have a 25-15 majority in the State Senate, one Republican has the ability to torpedo Wainer Apter’s chances for confirmation.
State Sen.-elect Holly Schepisi (R-River Vale) is due to take office on March 25 after winning a special election convention for the Bergen County seat left vacant last month following the death of Gerald Cardinale, a longtime watchdog of judicial nominees during his nearly 40 years in the New Jersey State Senate.
Since Wainer Apter lives in Bergen County, all four state senators must sign off on her nomination for it to advance through the Senate, according to the unwritten but strictly-enforced rule of senatorial courtesy.
The senior Republican in the New Jersey Senate, Robert Singer (R-Lakewood), announced his intent to support Wainer Apter’s confirmation tonight.