Vital Republican Becomes Vocal Champion of New Jersey Court Pick

A Republican legislator could have been a roadblock.

Instead, Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s savvy pick for his latest state Supreme Court nominee turned a potential opponent into the nominee’s champion. Murphy selected the law firm partner of a senior GOP senator for the spot.

Michael Noriega is poised to become the state’s first former public defender justice. And his nomination was a deft political maneuver that avoided a drawn out process that delayed Murphy’s last high court nomination for nearly two years due to New Jersey’s unwritten—but ironclad—senatorial privilege.

A senator whose district includes the county ...