Poll: Should Judges Pay More for Health Benefits?

Legislature overwhelmingly votes to allow citizens to decide whether to change state Constitution

The state's voters will decide this fall whether the New Jersey Constitution should be amended to allow legislators to force members of the judiciary to pay more for their health and pension benefits. Only three members of the Legislature voted against the measure, which was swiftly passed after a divided state Supreme Court ruled that requiring greater contributions is tantamount to a pay cut, forbidden by the Constitution.  "Rarely has the public seen such unanimity between the legislative and executive branches that the judicial branch was dead wrong," Gov. Chris Christie told the Star-Ledger.  The top court's majority ruled that the Constitution's prohibition on pay cuts protects the judiciary from partisan meddling while the state …

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