Can judges pocket veto an election matter? Voting begins in 42 days, but legal battle over primary petitions continue

Another week has gone by without appellate judges being assigned to hear an appeal over the legitimacy  of nominating petitions filed in April for the June primary to pick candidates for a general election that effectively begins next month when vote-by-mail ballots go out.

A lawsuit filed by local resident John Hughes more than four months ago is challenging an April ruling by Superior Court Judge Kathleen Sheedy that allowed two Republicans who failed to get enough signatures – just 50 — to merge their petitions with a third candidate to get on the June 7 primary ballot.   Hughes filed an appeal in April.

A court spokesman confirmed that no appellate judges have been assigned to the lawsuit and oral arguments requested 24 days ago have still not been scheduled.

“Someone in the courts pocket vetoed this,” said an attorney not involved in the Howell matter, who asked not to be identified out of fear of retaliation.  “The courts messed this up from the beginning and now they just want the thing to go away.”

After initially staying Sheedy’s ruling, Appellate Judge Hany A. Mawla suddenly reversed course in April to reject an emergent appeal and allow the primary to continue.  He set up a briefing schedule that began on June 10 – three days after the primary – and end on July 21.  Later, the deadline was extended to August 1.

If Sheedy’s decision stands, this radically alter how candidates get on the ballot in New Jersey.  It would  essentially set aside requirements that candidates get a minimum number of petition signatures in order to have their name appear on the ballot.  It could permit petitions to be circulated without the name of a candidate.

Fred Gasior and Susan Fischer, who got on the ballot after retroactively piggybacking their petitions with a running mate, won the primary election by a 2-1 margin against an off-the-line challenger Michael Bernstein.

The Sheedy decision allowed Gasior and Fischer to run on the line instead of forcing them to compete as write-in candidates.