New Jersey Judge Shortage Freezes Couples in Messy Divorce Cases

Despite a kidnapping threat, a mother can’t get a court order to secure her child’s passport. Parents are unable to enroll children in school due to custody battles. A woman is forced to live with a partner who cuts off the electricity in her home and blocks her access to any bank accounts.

These are some of the victims of the protracted judge shortage in New Jersey, which has a backlog of nearly 4,000 divorce proceedings and another roughly 4,700 other family law cases. Some counties are entirely blocked from holding any divorce trials because there aren’t enough judges to ...