N.J. DEMS TO NOMINEE, PULL OVER TROOPER-PROFILING FLAP WIDENS

TRENTON - The furor that ended the career of State
Police Superintendent Carl Williams on Sunday has become an issue in
Attorney General Peter Verniero's nomination to the state Supreme Court.

The Black Ministers Council of New Jersey and several Democratic
lawmakers said yesterday that Verniero's nomination should be
postponed until a review team completes its inquiry into trooper
practices and allegations of racial profiling.

"Real people must be wondering how the governor can fire Col. Williams
but promote his boss to the Supreme Court," said Sen. John Adler,
D-Camden, who called on Verniero to withdraw his name from
consideration.

But Peter McDonough, Gov. Christie Whitman's chief spokesman, said the
governor had no intention whatsoever of reconsidering or delaying
Verniero's nomination, which cannot be formally filed until March 15.

Whitman fired Williams after the 35-year veteran trooper said in a
newspaper interview that minorities are more likely to be involved in
cocaine and marijuana trafficking. Yesterday, the backlash of letters,
news releases and news conferences enveloped Verniero, whom Whitman
nominated Friday to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Stewart
Pollock.

Senate confirmation requires only a simple majority and Republicans
control the Senate, 24-16.

But the criticism aimed at Verniero ensured his appointment to the
state's highest court will be contentious. The Rev. Reginald Jackson,
the executive director of the Black Ministers Council, said Verniero
appointed a special team to review the State Police, and he should
remain to see the work completed.

"If this review is so important, it seems to me one week later, you
ought to be willing to see it through," Jackson said. "It may well be
that the review will call into question the attorney general's role."

Whitman said she would have fired Williams for those remarks at any
time, but the timing was especially bad with the controversy swirling
about racial profiling. Whitman said she would look outside of the
State Police to find candidates to replace Williams, though she does
not preclude naming another trooper to the top post. "We are going to
look both in and out," she said.

Noting the agency was modeled after the military, specifically a
cavalry division, Whitman said, "We need someone who understands that,
who understands the military mindset. It has implications for how you
make changes, when you have that kind of a structure."

The Black Ministers Council said the new superintendent must be from
outside the department and preferably from outside the state. Jackson
said Williams' attitude about race "is very alarming, and that is a
culture that the next superintendent will have to deal with, and this
council has no confidence that anyone presently with the State Police
will be able to do that."