News (Media Awareness Project) - US NJ: New Jersey Justices Are Asked to Testify on Racial |
| Title: | US NJ: New Jersey Justices Are Asked to Testify on Racial |
| Published On: | 2001-01-19 |
| Source: | New York Times (NY) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-09-02 05:39:59 |
NEW JERSEY JUSTICES ARE ASKED TO TESTIFY ON RACIAL PROFILING
TRENTON, Jan. 18 A state senator planning hearings on racial profiling by
the state police has asked three New Jersey Supreme Court justices to testify.
The justices Peter G. Verniero, Jaynee LaVecchia and Chief Justice
Deborah T. Poritz were among 34 people summoned today to answer questions
before the Senate Judiciary Committee over the next two months.
The witness list is made up of current or former employees of the attorney
general's office and of the state police. Ms. Poritz was attorney general
from 1994 to 1996, and Mr. Verniero from 1996 until 1999. Ms. LaVecchia was
a chief assistant in the attorney general's office from 1994 to 1998.
The committee chairman, Senator William L. Gormley, Republican of Atlantic
County, said he planned to hold hearings in late February or early March.
He said he expected all three justices to appear voluntarily, but that he
would seek subpoena power from the full Senate if necessary. Mr. Gormley
said that Mr. Verniero would be among those witnesses asked to testify
under oath and that others would be asked to submit to private interviews
or sworn depositions.
During hearings in 1999 before his confirmation as a Supreme Court justice,
Mr. Verniero testified that as attorney general he had received no firm
evidence of racial profiling until an April 1998 shooting of three minority
men after a traffic stop on the New Jersey Turnpike focused national
attention on the practice.
But recently released documents show that Mr. Verniero attended several
meetings about racial profiling in 1997.
The committee will be trying to determine whether he was truthful in his
earlier sworn testimony.
Also on the witness list are John J. Farmer Jr., the current attorney
general; Carl A. Williams, the state police superintendent who was
dismissed by Gov. Christie Whitman in 1999; Justin J. Dintino, a retired
state police superintendent; Michael A. Fedorko, a former state police
colonel who is now a member of the Casino Control Commission; and David C.
Hespe, a former assistant attorney general who is now the state education
commissioner.
TRENTON, Jan. 18 A state senator planning hearings on racial profiling by
the state police has asked three New Jersey Supreme Court justices to testify.
The justices Peter G. Verniero, Jaynee LaVecchia and Chief Justice
Deborah T. Poritz were among 34 people summoned today to answer questions
before the Senate Judiciary Committee over the next two months.
The witness list is made up of current or former employees of the attorney
general's office and of the state police. Ms. Poritz was attorney general
from 1994 to 1996, and Mr. Verniero from 1996 until 1999. Ms. LaVecchia was
a chief assistant in the attorney general's office from 1994 to 1998.
The committee chairman, Senator William L. Gormley, Republican of Atlantic
County, said he planned to hold hearings in late February or early March.
He said he expected all three justices to appear voluntarily, but that he
would seek subpoena power from the full Senate if necessary. Mr. Gormley
said that Mr. Verniero would be among those witnesses asked to testify
under oath and that others would be asked to submit to private interviews
or sworn depositions.
During hearings in 1999 before his confirmation as a Supreme Court justice,
Mr. Verniero testified that as attorney general he had received no firm
evidence of racial profiling until an April 1998 shooting of three minority
men after a traffic stop on the New Jersey Turnpike focused national
attention on the practice.
But recently released documents show that Mr. Verniero attended several
meetings about racial profiling in 1997.
The committee will be trying to determine whether he was truthful in his
earlier sworn testimony.
Also on the witness list are John J. Farmer Jr., the current attorney
general; Carl A. Williams, the state police superintendent who was
dismissed by Gov. Christie Whitman in 1999; Justin J. Dintino, a retired
state police superintendent; Michael A. Fedorko, a former state police
colonel who is now a member of the Casino Control Commission; and David C.
Hespe, a former assistant attorney general who is now the state education
commissioner.
Member Comments |
No member comments available...
