Judge throws out Hawkins lawsuit in West Orange

Citing the statute of limitations, U.S. District Judge William J. Martini today moved to dismiss a complaint filed by Eldridge Hawkins, Jr., against the West Orange Police Department and the Township of West  Orange.

"The Court finds that the applicable one- and two-year statutes of limitation indeed do bar plaintiff’s federal claims since they arise from Defendants’ conduct in mid-2004 while plaintiff waited until late 2007 to file this complaint," Martini wrote in his decision.

Hawkins, who was elected mayor of Orange on May 13, is on a leave of absence from his job as a patrolman with the West Orange Police Department.

The suit he filed against the West Orange Police Department and the township asserted that West Orange gave hiring and salary preferences to other officers based on their Irish heritage.

His opponents in the mayors' race made an issue out of the lawsuit, arguing that Hawkins had unresolved issues in West Orange.

His prime backer in the mayors' race, Senate President Richard Codey (D-Essex), denied that he had ever spoken to Hawkins's father, former Assemblyman and attorney Eldridge Hawkins, about trading political backing of Hawkins for a cessation to the lawsuit.

Hawkins, sr., also denied that any discussions on the matter had taken place between himself and Codey. 

Prior to the election, West Orange's attorney Steven C. Mannion of Decotiis, Fitzpatrick, Cole & Wisler, said he was confident the case would be thrown out due to the statute of limitations.