Latest news with #NewJerseyCourts
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Is New Jersey's judicial vacancy crisis under control? Trenton lawmakers hear testimony
The acting Administrative Director of the New Jersey Courts told members of the state Assembly Budget Committee that a robust judiciary is essential. Still less than a month on the job, Michael Blee spoke about the importance of an impartial court system, noting the 'judiciary must uphold the law and protect the rights of all individuals so that justice can be served.' State Sen. Paul Sarlo, the committee's chair and a Bergen County Democrat, called the state's system the 'best in the country.' 'We should be very proud of it," Sarlo said. "The process we go through to select our judges — and then the interaction we have with them afterward, the work we do together.' When asked by state Sen. Mike Testa, R-Vineland, about vacancies stemming from a lack of nominations from the governor's office, Blee said he didn't 'know what the impetus is' but that 'it is a very stringent vetting process,' which is a good thing. Blee said that as of May 1 there will be 51 vacancies, which is 'not at the crisis level' from several years ago, when the New Jersey courts had as many as 76 judicial vacancies. He said that they would like to see that number in the range of 25 to 30 vacancies. There is a possibility of shutting down matrimonial or civil trials in Vicinage 13, which covers Hunterdon, Somerset and Warren counties if there are five or six vacancies, though. They will stand at three next week. More: NJ lawmakers question school funding formula, federal aid in Trenton budget hearing Civil and matrimonial trials in Passaic, Cumberland, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Somerset and Warren counties have been suspended in recent years due to vacancies. A slew of judges were confirmed at the end of 2023 and in early 2024 to bring the number of vacancies on the bench to 38, the lowest since before the pandemic. In New Jersey, judges serve for an initial seven-year term and can be renominated for tenure, which allows them to sit on the bench until they reach the mandatory retirement age of 70. Blee also highlighted the efforts made to lower the backlog of cases to something closer to what it was before the pandemic. Blee said that in the past fiscal year, the backlog of cases is down to 21%, an increase of nearly 12%. The backlog stood at 41,433 in February, according to the courts website, a substantial decrease from the 75,777 cases waiting to be heard in February 2023. 'This is an improvement, but it falls short of our present goal,' Blee said. 'We look forward to continuing to work with the Legislature to fill judicial vacancies, which will help us reduce that backlog and provide timely justice for all.' Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey Statehouse. Email: sobko@ This article originally appeared on NJ judicial vacancy crisis is coming under control
Fox News
25-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
'Real Housewives' star Teresa Giudice, husband Luis Ruelas owe $3M in tax liens
Teresa Giudice and her husband, Luis Ruelas, were hit with more than $3 million in tax liens. The "Real Housewives of New Jersey" star had a $303,889.20 judgment filed against her earlier this month, according to documents obtained by Fox News Digital. Ruelas was hit with a $163,523.94 debt late last year, only to receive another lien in March for $2,569,842.06. Giudice and Ruelas married in August 2022, nearly a decade after she and her ex-husband, Joe Giudice, pleaded guilty to 41 counts of fraud after being charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and bank fraud. Each of the three cases against Giudice and Ruelas are still open, according to the New Jersey Courts website. Representatives for Giudice and Ruelas did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. Giudice had previously served time in prison. She was sentenced in October 2014 to 15 months in prison after striking a deal with prosecutors and agreeing to plead guilty to mail, wire and bank fraud for falsifying statements on loan applications. The Bravo star was released from the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut, in December 2015. Joe Giudice completed his 41-month sentence at the Allenwood Federal Prison in March 2019. After he completed his sentence, he was held by immigration officers until he voluntarily returned to his home country, Italy, where he attempted to appeal his deportation case. The former couple, who were married for 20 years, separated in December 2019. Their divorce was finalized in September 2020. Joe and Teresa share four daughters together. He has since moved to the Bahamas after a third appeal to return to the United States was denied in 2020. The "Celebrity Apprentice" star became engaged to Ruelas in October 2021, and married in New Jersey the following year. He has two sons from a previous relationship.
