Before his administration concludes in less than two months and just one month after nominating 10 individuals for spots on the Superior Court of New Jersey bench, Gov. Phil Murphy has named four more nominees to those same roles.

By: Nicholas Malfitano

Before his administration concludes in less than two months, Gov. Phil Murphy is continuing to address the subject of judicial vacancies in the Garden State by naming four more nominees to the Superior Court of New Jersey bench, potentially knocking the number of vacancies to record lows if all candidates are confirmed.

The four attorneys or present judges are: John Chiaia, an attorney in private practice, and assistant attorney general Frank Kapusinski, both for Essex County; Michael DeLoreto of Gibbons for Somserset County; and administrative law Judge R. Tali Epstein for Union County.

Chiaia, a graduate of Seton Hall University Law School, is a partner at Chiaia & Associates in Fairfield, New Jersey. He has focused on public bidding litigation, commercial and residential real estate transactions, corporate law, estate litigation and environmental compliance, among other practice areas.

Before entering the public sector, Kapusinski operated in private practice, primarily focusing on commercial litigation. He served as assistant Bergen County counsel and spent seven years as the county’s chief of litigation. Kapusinski currently serves assistant attorney general in the state Division of Law’s Litigation Practice Group. He is a graduate of Rutgers University School of Law.

DeLoreto, the director of Government & Regulatory Affairs and the administrative director at Gibbons' Trenton Office, brings extensive experience to legislative matters. He has also served as chief of staff to the New Jersey General Assembly deputy majority leader and as the government affairs director for one of New Jersey’s largest trade associations. DeLoreto worked as a law clerk to Appellate Division Judge Douglas M. Fasciale and is a graduate of Seton Hall University School of Law.

Epstein has been working as an administrative law judge in New Jersey’s Office of Administrative Law since April 2023. Before assuming her judgeship, Epstein worked as an associate at Epstein Becker & Green from 1993 to 1997, before spending the next 22 years at Kasowitz from 1997 to 2020. Epstein then served as counsel at Cohen Ziffer Frenchman & McKenna from 2021, until she took her spot on the administrative law bench. She is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

If approved, the four candidates could bring judicial vacancy totals to new lows.

The total number of Superior Court vacancies statewide stands at 44, according to data provided on Monday by New Jersey court administrators. In October, 10 candidates were nominated to the bench, and the other four were recently identified. These more recent nominations joined nine others that have been pending since June. In addition, the governor filed notices of intent to nominate two additional candidates on Monday. If these 25 candidates are confirmed, the total number of judicial vacancies would be reduced to 19.

Judicial vacancy rates have been a challenge in the Garden State since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which impacted the state’s backlog to fill those positions. At one point, a crisis level was reached with well over 70 vacancies, but even with those numbers having decreased, the mission to keep vacancy levels down continues. In February, there were 42 vacancies on the bench in New Jersey.

Administrative Office of the Courts director Judge Michael J. Blee said earlier this year that he would be comfortable with about 25 vacancies in state courts at one time. His office declined to comment on Tuesday about the additional nominations.

If the 25 candidates are confirmed, the total number of judicial vacancies would be reduced to 19. Vacancies in Camden County would be down to five, Union County would stand at four, Essex County would be down to three, Monmouth and Passaic counties would each have two vacancies, both Bergen and Ocean counties would each have one vacancy, and Burlington, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset counties would have no vacancies. Meanwhile, there are currently no vacancies in Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Hudson, Hunterdon, Morris, Salem and Warren counties.

As of Tuesday morning, no Senate Judiciary Committee meetings were scheduled, and the committee's last meeting was held on June 30. Senate Judiciary Committee spokesperson Richard McGrath also declined to comment Tuesday on the governor’s new appointments.