After the first meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee in five months on Monday, a veteran attorney and municipal court judge in Middlesex County is now one step closer to a spot on the Superior Court of New Jersey bench. Gov. Phil Murphy’s nomination of James P. Hoebich, the current chief municipal court judge for Metuchen, New Brunswick and Piscataway, was unanimously approved by the committee and will now advance to a vote at a full session of the Senate on Dec. 18. If eventually given final approval, Hoebich would succeed retiring Middlesex County Superior Court Judge Barbara C. Stolte. Hoebich thanked the committee in his remarks, and expressed his gratitude to a considerable number of individuals, including the governor and First Lady Tammy Murphy, for taking an interest in his application to serve on the Superior Court, in addition to fellow judges, family members, friends and professional colleagues. Sen. Bob Smith, a member of the committee, referenced Hoebich’s long tenure of service. “As has been the past practice of when lawyers are nominated to be judges from Middlesex County, we do an extensive review of their background, etc. Well, in this case, we really didn’t have to do it in Middlesex, because Jim Hoebich has been in numerous positions, not only in our county, but everywhere,” Smith said. Smith said that normally he doesn’t receive telephone calls from lawyers endorsing candidates to be judges, but that in Hoebich’s case, several Middlesex County attorneys called to tell him that “the judiciary will really be enhanced by the addition of Jim Hoebich.” Sen. Michael L. Testa Jr., another member of the committee, also praised Hoebich’s service as a municipal court judge and explained that his own grandfather held the same position, before ascending to the Superior Court. “I just really appreciate the fact that you’ve risen through the ranks and have such a diverse practice area, but particularly the fact that you have sat in a number of municipal courts. It means that you’re going to have a fantastic demeanor,” Testa said. After a roll call vote, Hoebich’s nomination was approved to advance. Prior to his 11-year-long tenure as a municipal court judge in Middlesex County, Hoebich was a graduate of St. John’s University School of Law and specialized in practicing municipal law. A former partner with Cahill Branciforte & Hoebich in New Brunswick, he left that firm to establish his own practice. 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. The total number of Superior Court vacancies statewide stands at 44, according to data provided last week by New Jersey court administrators. In October, 10 candidates were nominated to the bench, and four additional nominees 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 Nov. 24. If these 25 candidates are confirmed, the total number of judicial vacancies would be reduced to 19. 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 last week 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. In addition to Hoebich’s nomination advancing, the following sitting Superior Court judges were approved for a vote on reappointment at the next full session meeting of the Senate on Dec. 18: Michael N. Beukas, Bergen County;

Peter G. Geiger, Bergen County;

Jaclyn Medina, Bergen County;

Nina C. Remson, Bergen County;

Philip J. Degnan, Essex County;

Eric G. Fikry, Burlington County;

Lisa James-Beavers, Burlington County;

Joseph A. Levin, Atlantic County;

Benjamin D. Morgan, Gloucester County;

Mark B. Shoemaker, Gloucester County.