Though he has a degree from Yale Law School, Bruce Harris has never been a judge or tried cases in court.
View full sizeGov. Chris Christie speaks to the media in Trenton in this July 2010 file photo.Democrats who control the Senate Judiciary Committee have agreed to give Gov. Chris Christie’s third nominee to the state Supreme Court a hearing, but the gay, black Republican will face difficulty being confirmed because of his lack of courtroom experience and his vow to stay out of same-sex marriage cases.
Sen. Nick Scutari, the Linden Democrat who chairs the panel, told The Associated Press on Friday he questions whether nominee Bruce Harris “is up to the job.”
Harris will go before the panel May 31, two months after Democrats rejected another Christie nominee, First Assistant Attorney General Phillip Kwon. Kwon was voted down over concerns about the finances of a family-owned liquor store. He would have been the court’s first Asian-born member.
Harris also faces obstacles. Though he has a degree from Yale Law School, he has never been a judge or tried cases in court.
“My biggest concern is whether he’s up to the job,” Scutari said. “Supreme Court justices, regardless of where they stand in the geo-political spectrum, are all very talented people in their ability to analyze the law and write opinions.”
Scutari cast the deciding vote against Kwon, 45, citing unresolved concerns over 222 cash deposits from proceeds from a liquor store owned by his mother and wife just under the $10,000 amount that would trigger federal reporting. The family forfeited $160,000 to settle civil charges.
Senate Republican leader Tom Kean Jr. said Harris deserves a hearing that’s fair and open-minded, not a repeat of the hours-long grilling Kwon endured.
“The Senate already has one black eye from the Kwon fiasco,” Kean said. “I encourage my colleagues not to further shame this institution and conduct Bruce Harris’ hearing with the seriousness that is required by our state Constitution.”
Sen. Ray Lesniak, a Union Democrat who sits on the Judiciary panel, announced during the Kwon hearing that he would vote against Harris.
“My concern was when the governor got wind of his support for legislation authorizing same-sex marriage, he announced he would recuse himself,” said Lesniak, a gay marriage advocate. “There is no need for him to do that. His expression of support for the legislation has nothing to do with the constitutional issues he would face on the court. That gave rise to my bigger concern that he would bow to the wishes of the governor on the other issues, which is not what we’d want in a Supreme Court justice.”
Harris is the mayor of Chatham in Morris County, a post the 61-year-old said he would give up if confirmed. He would be the third African-American to be seated on the court and the first openly gay justice.
When he and Kwon were nominated in January to fill two open seats, Christie spoke highly of his choices.
“I felt strongly about making sure the court have diversity, but first and foremost that the court have quality justices who make sure they take the court in a direction that is a responsible one for the future of our state and its people,” the governor said at a news conference announcing the nominees and attended by both men and their families.
The governor has not announced a nominee to replace Kwon.