N.J. lawmakers confirm high court nominee, ending standoff

TRENTON - The state Senate on Monday confirmed Walter Timpone as a justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court, resolving a political standoff that had lasted for most of Gov. Christie's tenure.

The Senate voted 33-1, a sign of bipartisanship that stood in stark contrast to the contentious and at times ugly yearslong fight between Christie, a Republican, and Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester) over the ideological composition of the court.

With the appointment of Timpone, a Democrat, each justice on the seven-member court has now been confirmed by the Senate, as envisioned by the state constitution.

Judge Mary Catherine Cuff had been temporarily assigned to the court since 2012.

A number of lawmakers, lawyers, retired judges, and former state attorneys general have praised Timpone's qualifications since he was nominated. But Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg (D., Bergen), who cast the lone vote against him Monday, told reporters, "I believe we just put the wrong man on the Supreme Court."

She said Timpone had been "less than truthful" in an interview with her with regard to his solicitation of guidance from the state Ethics Commission while he served on the Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC).

During his confirmation before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, Timpone told lawmakers he had recused himself from a vote to issue a campaign-finance complaint against Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo in 2013.

Timpone said DiVincenzo had once found a job for his nephew at Timpone's request. DiVincenzo and the nephew later had a falling out, Timpone said. As a result of that series of events, Timpone said, he did not feel comfortable voting on an issue affecting the county executive.

"I didn't want to damage either my personal ethics or the reputation of the Election Law Enforcement Commission," Timpone told the committee, which advanced his nomination on a 13-0 vote.

Timpone did not disclose to the committee that he had twice voted at different stages of the case: first to authorize an investigation into DiVincenzo, in 2011, and again in 2015 when ELEC sought an extension from a court to respond to a judge's recommendation that the case be tossed because the board did not have quorum.

"He told me on the phone he recused himself from the moment he heard the name of the county executive," Weinberg said. "That is not true."

She added, "He's coming on under a cloud."

In a statement, Christie spokesman Brian Murray said the "only dark cloud is the partisan ugliness the Senate majority leader constantly chooses to bring with her every day to the Statehouse."

"As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, she had every opportunity to ask Mr. Timpone questions about his vast and highly respected professional and public service experience," Murray continued. "Sen. Weinberg interviewed Mr. Timpone at length by phone, and then she chose to stay on vacation and not attend to her duties on the Senate Judiciary Committee."

On Monday, an appellate panel rejected ELEC's request to block the judge's decision from taking effect until it is fully constituted with four commissioners who could accept, modify, or reject the judge's recommendation.

Still, most lawmakers heralded Timpone's appointment, though none spoke on the Senate floor Monday.

When Christie took office in 2010, he vowed to rein in what he denounced as a liberal, activist court. He took the unprecedented step that year of declining to renominate for tenure a sitting justice, John E. Wallace Jr., and for a time Sweeney refused to hold hearings for Christie's nominees.

In 2014, Christie and Sweeney reached a détente of sorts, with the governor agreeing to renominate Chief Justice Stuart Rabner, a Democrat. Sweeney, meanwhile, supported Christie's nomination of Republican Lee Solomon of South Jersey.

Few expected a deal on a final justice to be reached before Christie's term ended in 2018. But two weeks ago, Christie scrapped his nomination of a Republican and announced his support for Timpone, 65, of Cranford. In accordance with the court's mandatory retirement age, he can only serve until age 70.

Timpone is a former federal prosecutor, and most recently was an attorney at the law firm McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter.

The court is comprised now of three Democrats, three Republicans, and one unaffiliated justice.

Also Monday, the Senate confirmed Sen. Peter Barnes (D., Middlesex) as a Superior Court judge, opening a seat in the 40-member chamber. Barnes needed to be confirmed Monday, a day before he turns 60, in order to qualify fully for judicial pension benefits after 10 years of service, at which point he would be forced to retire.

aseidman@phillynews.com

856-779-3846 @AndrewSeidman