Politics & Government

UPDATE: Public Comments Begin in Harris Confirmation Hearing

Three employees at Riker Danzig speak in favor of Harris' nomination to state Supreme Court.

Mayor Bruce Harris appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday morning for his confirmation hearing over months after Gov. Chris Christie nominated him for the state Supreme Court.

Early Thursday afternoon, the hearing was opened to comments from the public. Three employees of Harris' former law firm, Riker Danzig, spoke in favor of Harris' nomination, including partner Edwin Chociey and James Lott, Jr., who is currently the borough's attorney.

Chociey answered questions from committee members about why Harris was not named a partner at Riker Danzig. It was not because of any shortcoming, he said. "On the contrary, his work was considered to be excellent."

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When Sen. Kevin O'Toole asked if Chociey thought Harris was qualified to be a Supreme Court justice, he answered without hesitation, "Absolutely, ... without reservation. Mr. Harris possesses the intellect [and] work ethic" to be a Supreme Court justice.

Another Riker Danzig partner, Stuart Lederman, said the criticisms about Harris not making partner or having courtroom experiences were "red herrings."

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Eric Dixon, an attorney in New Jersey, said Harris' experience was similar to his own, "and I would never purport to be qualified as a Supreme Court justice."

When Sen. Gerald Cardinale and Sen. Kevin O'Toole asked Dixon about Dixon's experience and why it qualified him to comment on Harris, he answered "that's not my job to investigate Mr. Harris."

Unlike Harris, Dixon said he was never mentioned among the Best Lawyers in America or one of New Jersey's "Super Lawyers," though he did say law firms often make payments to get such publications to look at their attorneys for those lists. He stopped short of saying Harris paid to be listed.

"He's not the best," Dixon said. "The issue should not be whether the candidate is simply qualified, it should be, is [he] the best."

Sen. Nicholas Scutari asked Harris specifically about ongoing litigation involving Tricare, the company which filed a lawsuit against the borough when they were forbidden from opening a gambling addiction treatment facility in the Parrot Mill Inn.

"I have not been involved in any litigation, have not been named a party in any litigation as far as I am aware of," Harris said.

Scutari said Harris has been ordered to give a deposition in the Tricare lawsuit. "You're involved in that case," he said.

Harris specified the litigation is one of several involving the borough, which he could be called as a witness in. His firm, Greenberg Traurig, is also involved in ongoing cases, he said.

"I had no intention of [misleading] this committee," Harris said. "The case has been in the press for the past couple of years, as has other litigation against Chatham Borough."

Scutari stopped asking about the lawsuit after Harris gave this answer.

Introduction

Harris detailed his personal, professional and volunteer history for the committee, including his experiences attending public school in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he was "often the only black in my classes." He spoke about his time at Amherst College and Boston University, his move to New Jersey in 1981 and his time at Yale Law School, which he began attending at the age of 38.

Harris said he was "humbled" by his nomination and that if he was confirmed, as the court's third black justice and first openly gay justice, he would "diversify the court in a new and innovative way."

Sen. Thomas Kean, Jr. introduced Harris to the committee as a "compassionate individual" who "will bring a great perspective to the court."

Questioning

Sen. Nicholas Scutari, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, immediately began by asking Harris about papers or opinions published. In Harris' law career, he has not published anything available to the public.

"The focus for my practice for the last 16 years or so has really been on drafting ... documents," Harris said.

Scutari said the committee had no way to verify Harris' experience because "we can't look at any of this stuff."

Harris said some documents could be made available, if redacted.

"You've never tried a case," Scutari said. "Many of the things that the supreme court os going to review are court decisions. ... How do you suppose you're going to have a feeling for how those are going to turn out?"

Harris responded that the ability to "conduct legal anaylsis" is more important than litigation experience, which he called "helpful but not mandatory."

Sen. Nia Gill asked Harris repeatedly about his statement that he would recuse himself from a same-sex marriage case in the court.

Harris told the senator he would recuse himself "not because I am gay, but because of my prior advocacy." He said he has hosted a party in his home supporting gay marriage.

"I am confident that I can be impartial about any matter," Harris said, but "the public is very, very, very divided on that issue. My concern was that, if I have the honor of being confirmed, a significant portion of the public would say 'He voted that way because of [his past advocacy],' and think this decision is not being made by an impartial court."

 

Chatham Patch will update this story as further information becomes available.


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