Senate panel holds hearing on Christie pick for N.J. Supreme Court

The New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing Thursday on Gov. Chris Christie’s nomination of Bruce Harris to the state’s Supreme Court.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Nick Scutari says Harris may have a difficult time winning confirmation to the court because of his lack of courtroom experience.

“It doesn’t preclude him, but we do certainly want to see a certain level of accomplishment by an attorney in their field of endeavor and a certain amount of comfort that we might have regarding his ability to handle court cases that might come in from of him,” said Scutari, D-Union. “And analyze the facts and the law that might apply, especially considering that he’s never been in a courtroom.”

 

Christie says Harris deserves to make his case on why he should be a justice.

“I’ve certainly not been given any heads-up by anybody in the Senate that it’s going to go one way or another,” Christie said Wednesday. “I take that as a hopeful sign that maybe there are actually some folks on that committee left who really want to listen.

“If they do I think that they’re going to give Bruce Harris the ability to go and be voted on on the floor of the state Senate.”

If confirmed Harris would be the first openly gay justice on the state’s high court.