Traditionally, government is composed of three branches, executive, legislative and judicial. The three co-equal branches are specifically designed to insure the delicate system of checks and balances so crucial to a functioning democracy. Gov. Phil Murphy either skipped civics or thinks two out of three ain’t bad, because throughout his administration, now in its second term, he has steadfastly refused to address the judicial shortage currently crippling our legal system.
As anyone with a pending legal matter is well aware, New Jersey is suffering a profound shortage of judges. There are a couple of reasons but none of them is the lack of qualified candidates. There are plenty of folks perfectly suited for judgeships but they have to be nominated first. That’s where the governor has fallen down on the job.