Politics & Government

Fernandez-Vina to Get Supreme Court Nomination Hearing

The Camden County judge was nominated by Gov. Chris Christie this summer to replace Supreme Court Justice Helen Hoens.

A little more than a month after several prominent Democrats called for a formal hearing on the move, the head of the Superior Court in Camden County will have his nomination to the state Supreme Court considered in the coming weeks, state representatives said Tuesday.

The the state Senate judiciary committee will take up the nomination of Superior Court Judge Faustino J. Fernandez-Vina, who heads the Camden County court and is a Haddon Township High School alum, on Oct. 17, state Senate President Steve Sweeney and judiciary committee chairman Nicholas P. Scutari announced.

Sweeney was one of the first Democrats to back Gov. Chris Christie's nomination of Fernandez-Vina, who would take the place of current Justice Helen Hoens, but several others have thrown their weight behind the judge.

“He has a stellar reputation as a highly intelligent and eminently fair jurist,” state Sen. Donald Norcross (D-Camden/Gloucester) said in August. “On a personal level, I find him to be a man of respect, decency, and character. I look forward to supporting his nomination to the Supreme Court.”

If approved by the Legislature, Fernandez-Vina, who is of Cuban-American heritage, would be the only justice on the bench from South Jersey.

Former Supreme Court Judge John Wallace, a Democrat and the court’s only black member, was the court’s previous representative from the southern portion of the state, but Christie declined to renominate him in 2010, effectively removing Wallace from the bench.

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Christie’s move to not renominate Hoens was due at least in part to concerns Democrats in the Legislature would retaliate for Wallace’s removal, the governor said, making it difficult, if not impossible for Hoens to survive the process and remain a jurist.

Fernandez-Vina—whose voting records indicate he’s a Democrat, but may be a Republican—was part of the controversial Camden County takeover of Camden’s police department, a move backed by Christie, blocking the city police union’s attempt to delay the takeover and put the issue before voters, arguing it would unfairly restrict the city.

Find out what's happening in Gloucester Townshipwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Rob Scott contributed to this report.


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