Retired NJ Presiding Judge Says ‘Judicial Vacancies Disgraceful’

In a wide-ranging on-air interview with former New Jersey Superior Court Judge Michael Donio, he did not hold back on the significant number of current judicial vacancies in New Jersey.

Donio was appointed to the New Jersey Superior Court bench on July 21, 1995 and retired on July 31, 2015, after serving on the bench for 20 years.

During his career, Judge Donio worked in both the civil and criminal divisions, where Judge Donio was appointed to be the Presiding Judge of the Criminal Division.

Judge Donio was responsible for overseeing all of the criminal judges in Atlantic and Cape May Counties.

During his judicial career, Judge Donio often presided over the most high-profile cases that were the subject of considerable public and media interest.

During our live on-air interview today, I asked Donio about the status of the current judicial vacancies in the state of New Jersey.

Donio was harsh in his assessment, calling the “75 current judicial vacancies disgraceful.”

Donio said that most of the vacancies are in the Northern portion of the state.

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Donio also shared that multiple Counties have been forced to suspend civil trials, to work down the backlog on the criminal division side, “because in some cases people are in jail,” said Donio.

Donio was highly critical of the North Jersey Senators, who are playing political horse trading with judicial vacancies … the biggest reason for the many vacancies.

Donio was highly complimentary about Atlantic County District  2 New Jersey State Senator Vince Polistina, who he credits with getting “5 or 6 judges and the Atlantic County Prosecutor confirmed.

Donio urged those who are currently plating politics with the extensive number of judicial vacancies to work together and fix this serious problem.