Christine Todd Whitman

The former Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court, James Zazzali, is joining two law firms: Zazzali, Fagella, Nowak, Kleinbaum & Friedman, the firm his father founded in 1925; and Gibbons P.C., where his daughter is a partner.  Zazzali, the Attorney General of New Jersey under Governor Brendan Byrne, was named Associate Justice by Governor Christine Todd Whitman in 2000.  Governor Jon Corzine elevated him to Chief Justice in 2006, a position he held for just under a year before reaching the mandatory retirement age of seventy.

Embattled Superior Court Judge Thomas Vena -- the guy who cut the bail of an illegal alien charged with raping a five-year-old girl that was charged this month with three Newark murders -- got tenure just two months ago, which means he can serve until 2022.

Vena, a Democrat and a career government lawyer with close ties to several key political leaders in Essex County, including Senate President Richard Codey, was elected South Orange Village Trustee in 1989. Governor Christine Todd Whitman appointed Vena to serve as a state Administrative Law Judge in 1998, and on October 23, 2000 as a Superior Court Judge. Governor Jon Corzine reappointed him for a tenured term on May 24, 2007, and after a brief hearing before the State Senate Judiciary Committee, he was unanimously confirmed for what could be a fifteen-year term as a Judge by the State Senate on June 18.

Less than seven years after leaving office, the so-called Whitman Court has virtually disappeared.  Of the six Supreme Court appointments made by Christine Todd Whitman during her seven years as Governor, only two -- Virginia Long and Jaynee LaVecchia -- are expected to remain in office when the next court session begins this fall.  James Zazzali, whom she named as an Associate Justice in 2000, reaches the mandatory retirement age of seventy in October. 

Governor Jon Corzine is the third consecutive elected Governor of New Jersey to break a leg while in office.

In 1999, Christine Todd Whitman broke her leg while skiing in Switzerland, after attending the World Economic Forum. She had surgery there to place a steel plate in her leg.

James E. McGreevey broke his leg in 2002 while walking on a beach in Cape May with his then-wife, Dina Matos McGreevey. He had surgery at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick. McGreevey was also involved in several automobile collisions while serving as Governor.