Sonya Sotomayor

June 17, 2009 - 1:22pm

Poll: 94% of New Jerseyans can't name a state Supreme Court Justice

By Matt Friedman, PolitickerNJ.com Reporter

A survey released by pollster Kellyanne Conway says that 94% of New Jersey's registered voters cannot name a single State Supreme Court Justice, and that the public is largely ignorant of about most aspects of the court.

The number presents an interesting juxtaposition to the political fury around the renomination of Associate Justice Barry Albin, 56. After serving his preliminary seven year term, he is up for tenure until mandatory retirement at age 70.

In a conference call with two conservative New Jersey attorneys, Conway said that the low level of familiarity with the court "should be regarded as an opportunity, not an obstacle. They do want to know more about the court."

The poll of 500 registered voters was conducted between January 9 and 10 -- long before the nomination of Sonya Sotomayor brought some aspects of the judicial debate into the public eye. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.38%.

Although the call was billed as a discussion of Albin's renomination, participants focused on broad judicial principles rather than Albin's specific decisions. Conway and the two others - Tom Gentile, who clerked for Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito when he sat on the United State Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit; and Cheryl Stanton, a former special assistant and associate White House counsel to President George W. Bush - reiterated Republican legislators' calls for a longer confirmation hearing.

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