The 2022-2023 General Assignment Order, With Some Shakeups in the Appellate Courts

Today, Chief Justice Rabner issued the 2022-2023 General Assignment Order. From an appellate perspective, the headline news is that Judges Fisher, Sabatino, and Fasciale have been temporarily assigned to the Supreme Court effective September 1. The Chief Justice issued an order to that effect today as well, as discussed here.

With that having occurred, the lineup of Presiding Judges of Parts of the Appellate Division has changed significantly, as all three judges assigned to the Supreme Court had been Presiding Judges of their respective Parts. Judges Gibbons Whipple (Part A), Currier (Part B), and Sumners (Part F) have been designated as Acting Presiding Judges of their respective Parts.

Some familiar faces will no longer grace the Appellate Division bench. Those include Judges Rothstadt, who has retired, Fuentes, who will retire as of September 1, and Alvarez, who had retired but had been sitting with Part D on recall. All will be missed.

Instead of the seven Parts that sat in the soon-to-be-concluded Term, there are six Parts for 2022-2023. Not counting the judges temporarily assigned to the Supreme Court, five of the Parts will consist of four judges, while Part D, headed by Judge Accurso as Presiding Judge, will have five judges. That roster includes three trial level judges temporarily assigned to the Appellate Division: Judges Marczyk (Part A), Bishop-Thompson (Part B), and Berdote-Byrne (Part F).