Toms River Attorney Nominated For Superior Court Judgeship

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Anthony Merlino, Toms River's assistant township attorney, is being nominated by Gov. Phil Murphy to become a Superior Court judge.

Merlino is one of eight people whose names were included in a notice of intent filed by Murphy's office with the New Jersey Senate, which must approve the nominations. The notice was filed Monday.

Merlino, who has been an attorney for 20 years, has worked for Toms River since 2009. He started his law career as a law clerk to former New Jersey State Supreme Court Chief Justice Deborah T. Poritz during the 2002-2003 court session, according to his LinkedIn page.

The nomination comes after a process that started with Merlino submitting his resume and notifying the governor's office of his interest in becoming a judge, and includes an extensive set of background checks.

The next step in the process is for Merlino's nomination, along with the other seven, to be reviewed by the state Senate Judiciary Committee. That can include interviews with members of the committee. Once the judiciary committee signs off on the nomination it is sent to the state Senate for approval, which requires a two-thirds vote.

New Jersey has been faced with a shortage of judges at the Superior Court level, where the majority of criminal cases are adjudicated. There are more than 460 Superior Court judgeships in New Jersey, and judges are required to retire when they reach 70 years old.

In Ocean County, at least three judges have been recalled from retirement to assist with the caseload in the courts.

It is not clear how soon Merlino could reach the Senate confirmation stage, especially with the impending holiday season. In the last two years the process from notice of intent to Senate confirmation has been about a month, however, a reflection of the stress that current vacancies are putting on the court system.