Justice provides insight into legal system
Former asst. prosecutor Barry Albin serves on state Supreme Court
BY TALI ISRAELI
Staff Writer

CHRIS KELLY staff State Supreme Court Justice Barry Albin recommended a career in law to students who are interested in making a difference and championing worthy causes. He spoke recently at Colts Neck High School.

State Supreme Court Justice Barry Albin recently spoke with students in the Freehold Regional High School District Law and Public Service Learning Center at Colts Neck High School to discuss the importance of the law.

Albin was nominated by former Gov. James McGreevey in July 2002 to serve on the state Supreme Court. He was confirmed by the state Senate in September 2002. At the time of his nomination Albin was a partner in the Woodbridge law firm of Wilentz, Goldman and Spitzer.

During his March 9 visit to Colts Neck High School, Albin said that as a Supreme Court justice, he is charged with the responsibility of protecting and defending the constitutions of the United States and of New Jersey.

In explaining how the federal system of government works, Albin said the 50 states operate like 50 different countries with their own laws.

For example, he said, same sex marriages are only allowed in Massachusetts and only three states (New Jersey, Connecticut and Vermont) allow civil unions. Albin added that most states specifically prohibit same sex marriages, civil unions and domestic partnerships.

Each state treats issues differently depending on the values of the people in that state, he added.

In terms of how the law works in New Jersey, Albin explained that the Supreme Court has the final word on the interpretation of the law.

Trial courts are at the bottom of the law pyramid, he said. For those individuals who lose their case in a trial court, they can appeal the decision to the New Jersey Appellate Court. Those decisions can then be appealed to the state Supreme Court, which Albin called the "court of last resort."

The Supreme Court hears about 100 cases a year but receives about 1,500 petitions for cases. The court accepts a case if the issue raises a general matter of public importance, Albin said, adding that the court will automatically hear a case if an individual has been convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

The Supreme Court needs three out of its seven justices to vote to hear a case, but it takes four votes to affirm or reverse a decision of the appellate court, he explained.

Albin said the justices do their best to interpret the law honestly by searching for the true meaning of the law.

"There is no substitute for diligence, preparation and hard work" in deciding a case, he said.

Albin said that during his career he has been met with intellectual and personal challenges and the opportunity to pursue worthy goals.

After graduating from Cornell Law School in 1976, Albin began his career as a deputy attorney general in the Appellate Section of the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice. He then served as an assistant prosecutor in Pas-saic and Middlesex counties from 1978-82 before joining the Wilentz law firm in Woodbridge.

"Choose a career that suits your interests and plays on your strengths," he told the students at Colts Neck.

Albin recommended a career in law to students who are interested in making a difference and championing worthy causes.

"We must remember that our nation and our laws are works in progress," he said. "Our nation's story is the people's long journey to a just society."

Albin took the students back in time by explaining how the law, lawyers and the court system played a role in the history of the nation.

Equality for African-Americans set in motion the toppling of the racial caste system and was a defining moment in the democratic life in this nation, Albin said.

"That decision could not have been rendered without faithful and courageous lawyers who gave the people a voice," he added.

In moving the discussion of equality to today's society, Albin mentioned the majority opinion he wrote that ruled that same-sex couples are allowed to enter into civil unions.

"Thirty years ago it would have been unimaginable that this would be a front-burner issue," he said.

He told the students that they, the future leaders of the country, will have an important role to play in the issues that lay ahead for them.

"A lawyer fighting for a righteous cause can make a difference in the world," Albin said.