1844 – The New Jersey State Constitution Adopted by Constitutional Convention

Article VI

Judiciary

Section I.

1. The Judicial power shall be vested in a Court of Errors and Appeals in the last resort in all causes as heretofore; a Court for the trial of impeachments; a Court of Chancery; a Prerogative Court; a Supreme Court; Circuit Courts, and such inferior Courts as now exist, and as may be hereafter ordained and established by law; which Inferior Courts the Legislature may alter or abolish, as the public good shall require.

Section II.

1. The Court of Errors and Appeals shall consist of the Chancellor, the Justices of the Supreme Court, and six Judges, or a major part of them; which Judges are to be appointed for six years.
2. Immediately after the Court shall first assemble, the six Judges shall arrange themselves in such manner that the seat of one of them shall be vacated every year, in order that thereafter one Judge may be annually appointed.
3. Such of the six judges as shall attend the Court shall receive, respectively, a per diem compensation, to be provided by law.
4. The Secretary of State shall be the clerk of this Court.
5. When an appeal from an order or decree shall be heard the Chancellor shall inform the court, in writing, of the reasons for his order or decree; but he shall not sit as a member, or have a voice in the hearing or final sentence.
6. When a writ of Error shall be brought, no Justice who has given a Judicial opinion in the cause in favor of or against any Error complained of, shall sit as a member, or have a voice on the hearing, or for its affirmance or reversal; but the reasons for such opinion shall be assigned to the Court in writing.

Section III.

1. The House of Assembly shall have the sole power of impeaching by a vote of a majority of all the members; and all impeachments shall be tried by the Senate: the members, when sitting for that purpose, to be on oath or affirmation “truly and impartially to try and determine the charge in question according to evidence:” and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of all the members of the Senate.
2. Any Judicial officer impeached shall be suspended from exercising his office until his acquittal.
3. Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend farther than to removal from office, and to disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, profit or trust under this State: but the party convicted shall nevertheless be liable to indictment, trial and punishment according to law.
4. The Secretary of State shall be the Clerk of this court.

Section IV.

1. The Court of Chancery shall consist of a Chancellor.
2. The Chancellor shall be the Ordinary or Surrogate General, and Judge of the Prerogative Court.
3. All persons aggrieved by any order, sentence or decree of the Orphans Court, may appeal from the same, or from any part thereof to the Prerogative Court; but such order, sentence, or decree shall not be removed into the Supreme Court, ______ or Circuit Court if the subject matter thereof be within the jurisdiction of the Orphans Court.
4. The Secretary of State shall be the register of the Prerogative Court, and shall perform the duties required of him by law in that respect.

Section V.

1. The Supreme Court shall consist of a Chief Justice and four associate Justices. The number of associate Justices may be increased or decreased by law, but shall never be less than two.
2. The Circuit Courts shall be held in every County of this State, by one or more of the Justices of the Supreme Court, or a Judge appointed for that purpose; and shall in all cases within the County, except in those of a criminal nature, have common law jurisdiction, concurrent with the Supreme Court; and any final judgment of a Circuit Court may be docketed in the Supreme Court, and shall operate as a Judgment obtained in the Supreme Court from the time of such docketing.
3. Final judgments in any Circuit Court may be brought by writ of Error into the Supreme Court, or directly into the Court of Errors and Appeals.

Section VI.

1. There shall be no more than five Judges of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas in each of the Counties in this State after the terms of the Judges of said Court now in office shall terminate. One Judge for each County shall be appointed every year, and no more, except to fill vacancies which shall be for the unexpired term only.
2. The commissions for the first appointments of Judges of said Court shall bear date and take effect on the first day of April next; and all subsequent commissions for Judges of said Court shall bear date and take effect on the first day of April in every successive year, except commissions to fill vacancies which shall bear date and take effect when issued.

Section VII.

1. There may be elected under this Constitution two, and not more than five, Justices of the Peace in each of the townships of the several Counties of this State, and in each of the Wards, in Cities that may vote in Wards. When a township or ward contains two thousand inhabitants or less, it may have two Justices: when it contains more than two thousand inhabitants, and not more than four thousand, it may have four Justices: and when it contains more than four thousand inhabitants, it may have five Justices: provided, that whenever any township not voting in wards contains more than seven thousand inhabitants, such Township may have an additional Justice for each additional three thousand inhabitants above four thousand.
2. The population of the Townships in the several Counties of the State and of the several wards shall be ascertained by the last preceding census of the United States, until the Legislature shall provide, by law, some other mode of ascertaining it.