The New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) supports A-5367 (Huttle)/S-3416 (Sweeney), which codifies “same-sex marriage” in New Jersey’s statutes. The bill passed the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee and is headed to a full vote of the Legislature today.
As of now, the right to marry emanates from a decision by Judge Mary Jacobson, who issued a ruling in Garden State Equality v. Down, 434 N.J. Super. 163 (Law Div. 2013), that prohibiting same-sex marriages violated the equal protection guarantee of the New Jersey Constitution. Jacobson granted summary judgment in favor of the plaintiffs to permit same-sex marriages. The ruling is the basis of the right to marry today. The bill would codify this right and also amend the marriage statute to be gender neutral.
Opinion on peremptory challenges and rules of professional conduct should remain untouched, NJSBA says
In its letter to the New Jersey Supreme Court last month, the NJSBA stated that the Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics (ACPE) Opinion 685, which concluded that lawyers should not face disciplinary action under the Rule of Professional Conduct 8.4(g) in connection with their use of peremptory challenges, should not be revisited. The letter was the latest in a string of actions by the NJSBA to address the concerns of the Supreme Court’s Judicial Conference on Jury Selection and implicit bias in the jury selection process.
“The NJSBA agrees with the ACPE rationale that lawyers who exercise peremptory challenges in the interests of their clients should not have to face the possibility of disciplinary action under RPC 8.4(g),” NJSBA President Domenick Carmagnola said. “Introducing a potential ethics violation in the midst of the jury selection process would most certainly influence the raising and review of a challenge to a peremptory challenge which could, in turn, have a substantial impact on the entire trial.”
The NJSBA pointed out that, as noted in the opinion, the Supreme Court has already established a procedure for determining and remedying the inappropriate use of peremptory challenges. The ACPE pointed out that Rule 1:10-1 already provides adequate procedures, including contempt proceedings, to deal with willful obstruction of the trial proceedings.
The NJSBA issued its Interim Report to the Judicial Conference on Jury Selection, which outlined recommendations to address implicit bias in the jury selection process without reducing or eliminating peremptory challenges in New Jersey. Members of the NJSBA have been appointed to working groups by the Supreme Court to further study the issue in the next few months.
Senate Judiciary Committee passes federal judicial security bill
The Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act of 2021 was voted out of the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously earlier this month. The NJSBA supports the bill, which funds the US Marshall’s Office to implement security measures to protect federal judges.
The NJSBA supports S-2340 (Menendez)/H.R. 4436 (Sherrill), encouraging lawmakers to pass the bill out of committee. The bill is a result of the advocacy of United States District Court Esther Salas and bar associations to protect judges and their families from threats and attacks. Judge Salas’s son, Daniel Anderl, was shot to death and her husband, Mark, was critically wounded in an attack at their home by a disgruntled attorney targeting Judge Salas.
“Threats against judges continue to rise,” said Judge Salas in a press release by the United States Courts. “I know first-hand this is a matter of life and death, and for the sake of my fellow judges and their families, Congress must not wait any longer. Congress must act now. Every day that goes by without action leaves our federal judges and their families, our justice system, and our very democracy in danger.”
New Jersey passed Daniel’s law earlier this year to protect the privacy of judges and prosecutors and their families. A cleanup bill is currently moving through the Legislature to implement these changes. The NJSBA continues to monitor both bills.
This is a status report provided by the New Jersey State Bar Association on recently passed and pending legislation, regulations, gubernatorial nominations and/or appointments of interest to lawyers, as well as the involvement of the NJSBA as amicus in appellate court matters. To learn more, visit njsba.com.