New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin shed light on the efforts of the department to build an agency that can advocate at the highest levels of the state and federal courts.
“We have really built an amazing team… We are positioned to really litigate these cases ourselves and take them to the highest court in the nation if we have to,” said Platkin, adding that the state is leading efforts to address issues ranging from gun violence to the harms social media is doing to young people, to forever chemicals, to the rights of school children.
“You can see it across the spectrum of cases we are litigating,” he said. “I am very proud.”
Platkin also noted the progress that has been made to address judicial vacancies.
“It’s really been a remarkable couple of years and that is a real positive for all of us,” he said.
Platkin’s remarks introduced a panel discussion, New Jersey At SCOTUS: NY v. NJ and the Waterfront Commission, at the NJSBA Annual Meeting and Convention on Thursday. The panel included Parimal Garg, Chief Counsel to Governor Philip D. Murphy, and New Jersey Solicitor General Jeremy Feigenbaum to discuss the journey of New York v. New Jersey.
The case focused on the Waterfront Commission Compact and involved many stakeholders, two states, multiple forums and theories. It went to the U.S. Supreme Court and resulted in a unanimous decision in New Jersey’s favor. The issues involved law enforcement and regulatory matters, said Garg.
“This was actually kind of fun,” said Garg.