Civil and matrimonial trials to be suspended in six New Jersey counties due to judge shortage

As New Jersey continues to face a shortage of judges statewide, civil and divorce trials in six counties will be suspended for the immediate future.

Chief Justice Stuart Rabner announced Tuesday that due to the high number of judicial vacancies, trials in the civil division and matrimonial trials would not be conducted in two vicinages covering six counties starting Feb. 21.

The affected counties are Cumberland, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Salem, Somerset, and Warren. There are 14 vacancies out of a total of 48 judicial positions across the two vicinages, according to Rabner’s statement.

There were “very limited” exceptions to trials being suspended, Rabner said.

The suspension of trials in the two vicinages comes amid persistent challenges facing New Jersey courts.

According to the most recent annual criminal justice reform report, there were 25 judicial vacancies statewide on Jan. 1, 2017. By Jan. 1, 2021, the number of vacancies had nearly tripled to 66.

And for the last three years, Rabner said, the court system has operated with an average of more than 50 vacancies. There are currently 69 vacancies throughout the trial courts, he said, a shortage that amounts to one out of every six positions statewide.

“Resolving the vacancy issue will be critical as the courts continue to deal with the impact of COVID-19 in the years ahead,” wrote Glenn A. Grant, the state administrative director of the courts, who submitted the report.

Rabner called on Gov. Phil Murphy’s office and the Legislature to help with the vacancies and warned that without relief, there could be similar suspensions in other vicinages soon.

To Jeralyn Lawrence, a divorce lawyer and the president of the New Jersey State Bar Association, the suspensions are part of a “crisis” in the state’s courts.

Suspending civil and matrimonial trials can cause a multitude of problems for families who want to make basic life changes, including getting a divorce or seeking custodial rights and child support. Some New Jersey residents who want to move across the state or to another state won’t be able to do so because they won’t be able to get a court order addressing parenting and custody situations, she said.

“The trickle-down effect of not having judges is massive,” she said. “It’s just kept people stuck.”

Further exacerbating the judicial vacancies, said Lawrence, 23 judges are set to retire in New Jersey by the end of June.