3 Verona-Cedar Grove Residents Approved As New Superior Court Judges

Will eight new Superior Court judges be able to make a dent in Essex County’s courtroom backlog?

Cedar Grove resident John Zunic and Verona residents Mark Ali and James Paganelli were among the eight judges confirmed by the NJ Senate on Aug. 13.

Other confirmed judges included Nora Grimbergen of West Caldwell, Lisa Adubato of Cranford, John Gizzo of Nutley, Russell Passamano of West Orange and Bridget Stecher of Fairfield.

A year ago, the Essex vicinage had 21 judicial vacancies, the highest in the state, according to NJ.com.

“The backlog became so bad at one point that civil and family court trials were temporarily suspended,” NJ.com reported.