New Jersey Supreme Court Justice-designate John Jay Hoffman today received the support of State Sen. Vin Gopal (D-Long Branch), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Gopal’s endorsement gives Hoffman four of the six votes he needs to win a Judiciary Committee vote, along with Chairman Brian P. Stack (D-Union City), Jon Bramnick (R-Westfield), and Joseph Lagana (D-Paramus).
“Earlier today, I met with Supreme Court Candidate John Hoffman and discussed in detail his life experiences and qualifications for this important position,” said Gopal. “We discussed his worldviews on a variety of general topics, and I can say that as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, John will have my strong support.”
Gov. Phil Murphy nominated Hoffman, the Rutgers University counsel and a former acting attorney general, on Monday to serve as an associate justice.
“I commend the Governor for making a strong, qualified pick to be a member of New Jersey’s Supreme Court, Gopal stated.
Gopal is the sixth member of the New Jersey Senate to publicly back Hoffman to replace retiring Justice Lee A. Solomon. Senate President Nicholas Scutari and Raj Mukherji (D-Jersey City) have already said they will support his confirmation.
Hoffman must still get the backing of the two senators from Burlington County, Troy Singleton (D-Delran) and Latham Tiver (R-Southampton). Under the Senate’s unwritten rule of senatorial courtesy, those seeking Senate confirmation must be approved by their home county senator.
