Judges Out of Touch with the People of New Jersey

May 22, 2009

Contact: Bill Murray / (609) 292-5199
Senator Gerald Cardinale

Judges Out of Touch with the People of New Jersey

30 Members of the Judiciary Refuse to Take Furloughs

Senator Gerald Cardinale, the senior Republican Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement regarding the refusal of 30 members of the judiciary to take a furlough:

“The refusal of 30 judges to take a furlough demonstrates how out of touch some members of the judiciary are with the people of New Jersey. Apparently, these judges either don’t understand or don’t care about the severity of New Jersey’s budget situation.

“Every legislator and every legislative staff person are taking two unpaid furlough days, voluntarily. The judges who are refusing to take two days should reconsider, especially after receiving an 11 percent pay raise at a time when many taxpayers are losing their jobs.

“As the senior Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee I will call on Chairman Sarlo to undertake a review of the recent pay raise and to explore methods to encourage our judges to do right by the taxpayers. We must be careful to strengthen the separation of powers and preserve the system of checks and balances and the members of the judiciary must be more sensitive to the fiscal pressure the taxpayers are under.

“In the future I will ask every judicial nominee or candidate for judicial tenure if this situation presents itself again if they would take a voluntary furlough. This question speaks directly to the judgment and common sense that we hope members of our judiciary will demonstrate.”