Delays loom for Bergen County divorce cases amid judicial staffing crisis
AUGUST 10, 2014 LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, AUGUST 10, 2014, 12:17 AM
BY MICHAEL PHILLIS AND PETER J. SAMPSON
STAFF WRITERS
THE RECORD
Divorce cases in Bergen County will face a murky and uncertain future when emergency measures to address a shortage of judges take effect next month, judges and lawyers say.
Judge Peter E. Doyne’s extraordinary order banning civil trials of more than two weeks, and his likely shifting of some judges to the criminal division, prompted predictions about an array of consequences.
Complex divorce cases involving wealthy couples will be put on indefinite hold.
The persistent backlog of divorce cases will grow.
Custody battles requiring the lengthy testimony of psychological experts will face lengthy delays.
Retired judges may be enlisted by increasing numbers of litigants as paid arbitrators to settle cases outside court.
For the average person who needs the intervention of a judge, the answer may not come until New Jersey politicians end their behind-the-scenes stalemate over appointing judges to dozens of open seats.
“You are affecting everyone who is weighing their options about whether to settle or get adjudication from a judge,” said Amanda Trigg, the incoming chairwoman of the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Family Law Section. “You can hold out for a trial, but it is going to be an indefinite amount of time down the road.”
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/delays-loom-for-bergen-county-divorce-cases-amid-judicial-staffing-crisis-1.1065059#sthash.slcScUwy.dpuf
Yes, the appointment process is broken but this situation is intolerable. Doyne is paid $170k+ with cadillac benefits so let him and his crew work 12 hours a day like we do in the private sector. These judges start thinking they’re God.