JEREMY JEDYNAK, ETC. v. GOVERNING BODY OF THE TOWNSHIP OF ROCKAWAY (L-2112-19, C-0099-19, and C-0100-19, MORRIS COUNTY AND STATEWIDE), A-3484-19

Phyllis Smith resigned from the Rockaway Township Council on September 9, 2019, creating a vacancy governed by the Municipal Vacancy Law (MVL).
The Rockaway Township Republican Committee (RTRC) could find only one willing nominee, Douglas Brookes, and submitted a Notice of Nomination with Brookes's name only.
RTRC sent a letter waiving any additional time to submit nominees and stating it did not object to the Council considering additional candidates; the Council appointed Brookes by acclamation on September 24, 2019.
Tucker Kelley filed suit challenging the appointment as violating the MVL; John Schmidt, Mary Hollenbeck, and Jeremy Jedynak filed related challenges (consolidated by the trial judge).
Plaintiffs moved to recuse Assignment Judge Stuart Minkowitz and later sought to set aside Brookes's appointment; the judge denied recusal, held the appointment valid under the MVL, and denied reconsideration.
Plaintiffs appealed, arguing (1) the judge should have recused himself and (2) the MVL required waiting the full time for three nominees before the Council could appoint.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Jurisdiction (interlocutory appeal)	Plaintiffs sought review of recusal/order and judgment; appeal is proper because final judgment denying relief was appealed	Council argued plaintiffs only appealed interlocutory recusal order and failed to seek leave under Rule 2:5-6	Appeal allowed; court held plaintiffs also appealed final judgment so appeal was not interlocutory
Recusal of Judge Minkowitz	Plaintiffs claimed prior adverse remarks and rulings showed bias or appearance of impropriety warranting disqualification	Judge/Council argued isolated remarks and adverse rulings do not show bias; movant must prove prejudice or factual basis for disqualification	Denied; no reasonable, fully informed person would doubt judge's impartiality; mere disagreement with rulings insufficient
MVL interpretation and validity of Brookes's appointment	Plaintiffs argued MVL requires waiting full statutory periods and submission of three nominees before Council may appoint	Council/judge argued RTRC effectively waived further time when it submitted only one nominee and deferred to Council; statute permits timely filling and Brubaker supports this approach	Denied relief; appointment valid—trial court properly construed MVL to allow Council appointment when committee submits one name and declines to provide additional nominees

State v. McCabe, 201 N.J. 34 (2010) (recusal motions reviewed for abuse of discretion; legal standards reviewed de novo)
DeNike v. Cupo, 196 N.J. 502 (2008) (appearance-of-impropriety standard: would a reasonable, fully informed person doubt impartiality?)
Laird v. Tatum, 409 U.S. 824 (1972) (duty to sit where not disqualified; courts should not recuse on mere suggestion)
Manalapan Realty, L.P. v. Twp. Comm. of Manalapan, 140 N.J. 366 (1995) (trial court legal interpretations are reviewed without special deference)
Brubaker v. Borough of Ship Bottom, 246 N.J. Super. 55 (1990) (permitting judicially pragmatic approach where committee cannot produce three nominees to avoid interminable proceedings)
Magill v. Casel, 238 N.J. Super. 57 (1990) (interlocutory-recusal appeals require appropriate appellate procedure)