Judicial Deactivation

The field of seven Republican candidates for New Jersey governor held their first televised debate Sunday. For the five playing catch-up to front-runners Doug Forrester and Bret Schundler, the debate was their first chance to prove their conservative bona fides to a state-wide audience. The primary is June 7.

The surprise standout was Assemblyman Paul DiGaetano who spoke frankly about the politics behind some incendiary social issues. When asked about same-sex marriage, Mr. DiGaetano called the state's domestic partnership law a benefits grab that was "done for the purpose of getting our activist supreme court to say, if you allow domestic partnerships you also have to allow same-sex marriage." To a question about judicial nominees, Mr. DiGaetano said the key to getting New Jersey's Supreme Court justices focused again on upholding the state constitution is to subject them directly to the voters. Currently, justices earn lifetime tenure if they've been reappointed after their first terms end.

Mr. DiGaetano, an Assemblyman from the town of Nutley, is a former majority and minority leader from a district where Democrats outnumber GOPers by a three-to-two margin. Though he faces an uphill challenge in the governorship race, his political success from a mixed suburban district suggests he may be onto something. Gay marriage aside, New Jersey's supremes have a history of legislating from the bench. Whoever wins the governorship -- and this includes the deep-pocketed Democrat front-runner Sen. Jon Corzine -- would be wise to heed his warning about growing suburban discontent with judges who try to dictate public policy over the voters' heads.