Senate Democrats announced last week that the Senate Judiciary Committee would hold a hearing on the nomination of Judge Fausto Fernandez-Vina to the Supreme Court. That hearing has been scheduled for October 17. Governor Christie nominated Judge Fernandez-Vina, a Republican, to fill the seat currently held by Justice Hoens, also a Republican.
Two other nominees for Supreme Court seats, Judge David Bauman and Robert Hanna, have not had hearings scheduled. It is possible that a hearing for Judge Fernandez-Vina was scheduled first because, among other potential reasons, his confirmation would not alter the current partisan lineup of the Court. The same is not necessarily so of Governor Christie’s two other nominees, though that issue is disputed.