Princeton-area lawyers file lawsuit against McGreevey

A federal judge could rule as early as next week on a lawsuit filed by two Princeton-area lawyers who want a special election to choose a successor for New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey.

Bruce Afran and Carl J. Mayer '81, both active in the local Green Party, argued in a Trenton courtroom Wednesday that McGreevey effectively stepped down Aug. 12, when he announced that he had an extramarital affair with a man and intended to resign Nov. 15.

McGreevey had previously appointed Golan Cipel, with whom he had the relationship, to a state counter-terrorism post. Cipel is an Israeli national whose qualifications for the job many had questioned.

Critics said that by remaining in office for 10 weeks after the announcement, McGreevey was depriving New Jersey voters of their right to choose a governor.

"Our complaint is, he's trying to hand the reins of power to a crony of his," Mayer said.

Under state law, if McGreevey leaves office any time after Sept. 2, no special election is held and state Senate President Richard Codey becomes acting governor until November 2005.

"We want the people of the state to have an opportunity to choose their own governor, instead of relying on this backroom deal between McGreevey, the Kerry campaign and Sen. Codey," Mayer said.

Mayer said he saw reports suggesting the presidential campaign of Sen. John Kerry encouraged McGreevey to block a special election by staying in office past Sept. 2. According to Mayer, Kerry staffers feared that Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Corzine, a successful fundraiser, might abandon his post as chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to run for governor in a special election.

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Afran and Mayer have a long history in Green Party politics. Afran was a Green candidate for the Senate seat Corzine ultimately won in 2000. Mayer ran for the House of Representatives on the Green ticket in 2002, and is serving as treasurer for the presidential campaign of former Green Ralph Nader '55 this year.

Both men have been active on the Princeton Township political scene as well. In 2002, they led a legal effort, supported by Princeton professors Joyce Carol Oates and Peter Singer, to block a controversial deer population-management plan.

U.S. District Court Judge Garret Brown Jr. said Wednesday that he would consider seeking a clarification of state law from the New Jersey Supreme Court, asking the justices to define what constitutes a vacancy and then deciding the suit, Afran v. McGreevey, on that basis.

Frank Askin, a constitutional law expert at Rutgers School of Law in Newark, said he thought that Judge Brown would likely refer the case to the Supreme Court.

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"The judge might do them a favor" by referring the suit to a state court, Askin said. "I have no idea why they brought this case in federal court in the first place. It's a question of state law and the state constitution."

Mayer said one reason he and Afran sued McGreevey in federal court was that the state judiciary has a conflict of interest.

"They ultimately serve at the pleasure of Richard Codey," he said, referring to the state Senate's power to confirm and impeach New Jersey judges.

A spokesman for Gov. McGreevey would not comment on the legal merits of the suit. He said McGreevey is focused on serving the people of New Jersey in his remaining 75 days in office.

"Lawsuits are not his focus right now," said the spokesman, Micah Rasmussen.

A spokesman for the attorney general's office, which argued McGreevey's case in court, could not be reached yesterday afternoon.

Brown said he would issue a decision next Tuesday or Wednesday.