State Sen. Joseph Cryan (D-Union), who had strongly advocated for Hispanic representation on the New Jersey Supreme Court, will sign off on Gov. Phil Murphy’s nomination of Michael Noriega as an associate justice.
“I’ll be supporting Noriega’s nomination,” Cryan told the New Jersey Globe. “I’m proudly looking forward to him being confirmed.”
Last year, Cryan suggested that would not support a top court nomination for former Justice Barry Albin’s eat that was not Hispanic. The Supreme Court has been without Hispanic representation since Faustino Fernandez-Vina retired in February 2022.
“I very much wanted a Hispanic on the court,” Cryan said.
Cryan lauded Noriega’s legal skills and philosophy of the law, saying he comes with a “strong voice, one of reason.”
“He’s got a sense of balance, a sense of what people are going through,” he said. “He’s got a great perspective on fairness in the legal system, something that’s very important to me.
He also praised Noriega’s expertise on immigration issues and his commitment to protecting the rights of immigrants.
Cryan’s approval means that Noriega has now cleared the unwritten senatorial courtesy rule with the top court nominee receiving signoff from the three state senators from his home county, Union. Senate President Nicholas Scutari and Republican Jon Bramnick, Noriega’s law partner, have also provided signoff. That will allow the Senate Judiciary Committee to hold a confirmation hearing.
Nineteen senators have already publicly committed to supporting Noriega in a vote of the full Senate, two short of what he needs to be confirmed.
