Did you hear the one about the three Judges who walked into a bar?

George Korpita, who served as a Municipal Court Judge in Rockaway, Dover and Victory Gardens, has been blocked from ever serving in public office again after attempting to use is official position to avoid an arrest in a 2007 drunken driving incident and another one last week in Sparta.  Last week, Livingston Municipal Court Judge Robert Jones was arrested for driving drunk in Parsippany.

New Jersey doesn’t always take a hard line on DWI cases when they involve public officials. Robert Clifford pled guilty to DWI in 1989 while he was still serving as an Associate Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court He was arrested again for DWI in 2000 when his vehicle struck a small bridge in his hometown, Bernards. Because Clifford's earlier conviction was more than ten years ago, the law allowed him to be viewed as a first-time offender. According to the Star-Ledger, "five state judges have been sanctioned by the Supreme Court following drunken driving convictions. Three were publicly reprimanded, one was censured and one was suspended for 60 days after he was convicted of a second driving-while-intoxicated charge.

Read more >>

Wake-Up Call

Morning News Digest: March 19, 2010

Christie vetoes 5 service contracts approved by Turnpike Authority  Governor Christie on Thursday vetoed five professional services contracts that were approved by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority a month ago. The governor’s office said Christie exercised his eighth veto because the contract fees ranged from...

Wally Edge

Democratic State Chairman John Wisniewski (D-Sayreville) put out a statement today accusing GOP congressional candidate Jon Runyan of “hiding from the press while trying to privately impress party bosses, and taking advantage of thousands of dollars...
The passing of Warren Wilentz means that David Norcross becomes the earliest nominated U.S. Senate candidate currently living.  Wilentz was the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in 1966 against Clifford Case, and Norcross was the Republican U....
The national political environment favored the GOP in 1966.  It was the mid-term election of Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson, and the war in Vietnam had just begun to divide the nation.   In New Jersey, Republican Clifford Case was...
Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo issued a press release today urging the State Assembly to pass pension and health insurance reform bills, but did not mention in his 574-word that the person blocking the legislation, Assembly Speaker Sheila...
Two Republicans will formally announce campaigns for Congress this evening against Democratic incumbents: John Runyan, a retired NFL star who played for the Philadelphia Eagles, is challenging freshman U.S. Rep. John Adler (D-Cherry Hill), and Diane...

Contributors

This is going to be a budget that is going to be unlike any other you’ve probably seen in NJ in at least the last 20 years and maybe... more »
Everybody needs to start a new job with a list of priorities and Chris Christie is no exception. There might be a thousand things that need to get done... more »
On Tuesday, Governor Christie outlined a strategy to rescue New Jersey from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Like other states, we were not immune... more »
Governor Christie seems to have played the rotten fiscal cards he inherited fairly well. As reported by the Star-Ledger, he is proposing to cut school aid by more... more »
It's impossible to support consolidation of government services and also support COAH.S1 paints with a broad brush and thus will miss some fine points.  COAH paints with... more »
As part of his solution to New Jersey’s current budget deficit, Gov. Chris Christie announced that, effective yesterday, he will not allow any additional parents to enroll in FamilyCare,... more »
Do I love Governor Chris Christie’s budget proposal?  Of course not.  Who would?  I’m sure he doesn’t like it, but that’s not the point, is it?  How could you... more »
The budget speech given on Tuesday by Governor Christie clearly illustrates his priorities – including disproportionately shifting the tax burden away from businesses and the wealthy, and... more »
On Rebate Issue, Christie Will Win.  The leading New Jersey Sunday newspapers yesterday confirmed that Governor Chris Christie will propose in his FY2011 budget the... more »
You’ve got to hand it to Christie; he calls it as he sees it.  I don’t mean the newly crowned Governor, Chris Christie, but his nine-year-old son, Patrick.  ... more »
Anyone involved in governing and administrating a town or county in New Jersey understands the economic problems outlined in The Star-Ledger editorials of February 28 and March 1.  The... more »
It is widely anticipated that Gov. Chris Christie’s first budget message, to be delivered on March 16, will show the harsh reality of New Jersey’s bleak financial outlook. No... more »
In keeping with the commitment I made to you in the November election, I am looking at every possible way to cut wasteful government spending and relieve your tax... more »
Wanted:  Courage to Pass Healthcare Reform In 1935, they spoke out against Social Security.  In 1965, they spoke out against Medicare.  And now in 2010, they are taking a politics-first... more »
Our new Governor suffers from no lack of advice.  Much of it, contained in the transition reports, deserves prompt attention.  Obviously, economic prosperity benefits everyone, and – as... more »
I have to genuinely wonder if this legislature will go down as the most taxing legislature in the history of the state of New Jersey surpassing the legislative actions... more »
Now that  the dust has finally settled after the grueling campaign for governor, there are a number of lessons that we can draw from this election. First and... more »
3.20.10     Putz of the Week and Mensch of The Week It is not too often that I have designated a Democrat as the Putz of the Week and a Republican... more »
Limited government principles and fiscal conservatism are philosophically sound, because they preserve the people’s natural rights and they prevent government from overspending, over borrowing and overtaxing.   For more than... more »
New Jersey is in severe financial crisis because for years elected officials have been able to make irresponsible and short-sighted decisions without any restraint.  Future governors may... more »
On January 6, 2010, several newspapers published articles with titles like “no more aid for struggling cities”, “Christie will cut state aid” and the like; furthermore, in the body... more »
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, you target teachers. That’s not a positive note to start your tenure. You forget that the Teachers’ Union makes decisions on its own, such... more »
On the day of his inauguration, Governor Christopher Christie inherited a gaping $2 billion hole in the state’s budget and swiftly set about the people’s business in meeting our... more »