RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

By Peter A. Buchsbaum

Peter A. Buchsbaum has recently become a judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey.

On July 14, 2004, I took the oath of office as a judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey. While this position is one I am thrilled to assume, it does have certain disadvantages. One of the most significant pertains to this column.
Among the cases to come before me will be those dealing with land use and local government. I may actually have to pass on the validity of those adult zoning ordinances, land use damage claims, and public employee termination suits I’ve so enjoyed writing about for the past several years. Given the requirements of judicial detachment, I’d either have to forgo writing about these cases in this column or discuss them so neutrally that the column would quickly become boring—both for readers and for myself. In other words, no more clever—well, I hope they were clever—quips about the scrapes state and local governments seem to get into on a daily basis, and no more sly asides about the apparent vagaries of judicial opinions. Having written a few short ones now, by the way, I can see that it is not all that easy to write clear and coherent prose in justifying a ruling. In one matter, I have to confess, I had written a ruling favoring one side until I got to the concluding paragraph, then changed my mind. I doubt the opinion is a model of clarity.

Further, had I written a column on such a case, especially in these days of computer searches, I could easily be confronted by my own past words. Not the best way to begin the task of judging. As a trial court judge, I clearly am, pace Justice Jackson, neither final nor infallible, and giving people more opportunities to remind me of that fallibility seems unwise.

So for the reasons set forth above, it appears that the most judicious decision is to give up this column. I regret having to do so. I have enjoyed it more than any other piece of writing I have done. Perhaps it is because the work of state and local government is so interesting and varied that it is a treat to have the opportunity to write about it. Also, some of the situations you come across in reported decisions are quite frankly unusual, like the Texas redistricting case, with legislators leaving the state to avoid a quorum, and the cases arising out of the continuing confrontations surrounding municipalities seeking to control both adult and religious uses.
But, so far, it appears that judging can be the idealistic endeavor it is supposed to be. It does give a lawyer a chance to fill a new role, in which the aim is ensuring a just decision while showing fairness to the litigants, the parties, and indeed the jurors. As a judge, one can work full-time to uphold and improve our system of justice, which we all took an oath as lawyers to sustain. For a person who, like me, has practiced law for over thirty years, it can represent a wonderful culmination of a legal career.

So while I leave this column with regret, I am hopeful that my new role will be of great benefit to the law. I thank those of you who sent me cases to write about, and hope all of you have enjoyed the column as much as I have.