Christie again nominates Bauman for state Supreme Court

Gov. Chris Christie announced Monday that he plans to nominate Superior Court Judge David Bauman, of the Monmouth Vicinage, to fill a vacant spot on the state Supreme Court.Christie had previously selected Bauman, 59, for the state’s highest court back in 2012, but the nod was later withdrawn after the state Senate failed to act on the Republican judge’s nomination.

But given that the Senate reapproved Bauman for his current position just last year, Christie said he’s hopeful partisan politics will not factor into the upcoming nomination process.

“There’s no question that David is an accomplished public servant whose wide-ranging judicial experience would make him an outstanding justice,” said Christie, who held his first news conference Monday since his controversial presidential endorsement of businessman Donald Trump on Friday. “His nomination also shows my continued commitment to expanding diversity on the state Supreme Court bench. Judge Bauman received unanimous approval from the New Jersey Senate as recently as May 2015, so I look forward to a fair and speedy confirmation hearing.”

Bauman, who would be the state’s first Asian-American Supreme Court justice, was first nominated to his Superior Court post in 2008 by Gov. Jon Corzine. Prior to that, Bauman was a partner at the firm Bressler, Amery & Ross.

During his tenure as governor, Christie has seen three Republican judges have their Supreme Court nominations confirmed by the Senate. His most recent successful nomination, Justice Faustino Fernandez-Vina, was sworn in to the court in 2013.