The Record from Hackensack, New Jersey • 3

TUESDAY, MAY 20, 2003 THE RECORD A-3 New Senate OKs SUCDSTOiil Political arena football- Bergen Republican is lone dissenter session law after a defendant challenged its constitutionality. In the mid-1990s Wallace also upheld portions of Megan's law requiring that communities be notified when sex offenders move into them. After his confirmation, Wallace thanked the Senate and promised to be fair. "My role will carry a great responsibility, and I am prepared to share that responsibility, he said. McGreevey nominated Wallace after backing off his original choice, Zulima Farber, a former state public advocate, because a bench warrant had been issued for John E.

Wallace Jr. State SeaSteven Sweeney, R-Gloucester County, said he was offended by Cardinale's remarks, saying the Supreme Court, as an institution, was not up for a vote. "We have not been able to find one thing bad to say about Judge Wallace," Sweeney said. "Judge Wallace believes in the laws of the state of New Jersey." But Cardinale's criticism is a likely precursor for what will be a full-blown debate next month about whether the high court is too activist and liberal. The debate is expected to play out when the Senate considers whether to give tenure to Chief Justice Deborah Poritz.

The New Jersey Supreme Court is considered to be among the most liberal in the nation, and its rulings since Poritz became chief justice seven years ago have continued that tradition and angered conservative Republicans. Those rulings include barring the Boy Scouts from firing a gay scout leader and overturning the state's parental notification law for minors seeking abortions. Wallace, 61, an African-American from Sewell in Gloucester County, had high phrase for the court during his confirmation hearing last month, but would not discuss any of its decisions. Governor McGreevey nominated him in April to replace Associate Justice James J. Coleman the high court's first African-American justice.

Coleman retired this month. Wallace, an appellate judge since 1992, has shown an interest in upholding the rights of individuals in criminal justice matters. One recent ruling involved a defendant who was allegedly driving drunk and was accused of manslaughter after his car slammed into another vehicle and seriously injured the driver. The injured driver eventually died, but Wallace ruled that the lower court had deprived the defendant of a fair trial by refusing to let the jury consider the fact the victim died after his family had taken him off life support Wallace also has ruled in favor of the government In a 1998 case, he upheld the state's cocaine pos Pilot safe after Age: 61 Education: University of Delaware; J.D., Harvard Law School Careen Partner in private law firm, 1976-1984; municipal judge, Washington Township (Glouces- Li zn 4 ter County), 1973-1981; Supenor Court judge, VL-J 1 984-1 992; Appellate Court judge, 1 992-2003. her arrest and her driver's license had been suspended after she failed to show up in court for a traffic ticket Hispanic groups criticized McGreevey for dumping Farber, who would have been first Hispanic to join the high court, saying she was more than qualified.

Wallace is McGreevey's second appointment to the high court His first, Barry Albin, joined the court in the fall. Albin was a partner with the politically connected firm of Wilentz, Goldman Spitzer in Woodbridge, where McGreevey was mayor. Partners and employees of the firm donated more than $173,000 to McGreevey's 1997 and 2001 gubernatorial campaigns and his 2002 inaugural activities. brief, tumultuous tenure marred by strained relations with the police unions and questions about his ethics. Fuentes is the fifth leader of the state police since 1999, when former Gov.

Christie Whitman fired state police Superintendent Carl Williams at the height of the racial-profiling scandal. Fuentes, 52, a Union County native who is of Spanish and Irish descent, spent most of his 25 years with the state police as a detective investigating terrorism, drug trafficking, and gangs. His work on drug seizures earned him a Trooper of the Year award in 1993. Most recently he has served as chief of the intelligence bureau, which is dedicated to investigating organized crime. Fuentes, who lives in Rutherford, earned a master's degree and then a doctorate in criminal justice from John Jay College and the City University of New York.

Josh Gohlke's e-mail address is gohlkenorthjersey.com as senator deputy fire chief, is expected to fill the vacancy left by Sarlo. As such, both will be able to run as incumbents in November against Republican Senate candidate John Kelly, a former assemblyman, and Assembly candidate Richard DiLascio, the Lyndhurst GOP leader. The tickets also include Assembly Minority Leader Paul DiGaetano, R-Nutiey, and Democratic Assembly candidate Imre Karaszegi an attorney. By RANDY DIAMOND STAFF WRITER The state Senate voted 34-1 Monday to confirm Judge John Wallace to the Supreme Court, but not before Democratic lawmakers were forced to defend him against criticism from a Republican legislator. Sen.

Gerald Cardinale, R-Bergen County, set off a parade of praise for Wallace when he said the Appellate Division judge would maintain a liberal bias on the high court. "Our present court is remarkable for its activism and left-of-center bias," said Cardinale who cast the lone vote against Wallace. The senator went on to criticize rulings that have forced the state to increase funding for urban schools and a ruling that allowed the state to float bonds without voter approval. Democrats sprang to Wallace's defense. State Sen.

Wayne Bryant, R-Camden County, said Wallace's record as an appellate judge spoke for itself. "He's got nothing but high marks, not only for his moral character, but also for his judicial temperament," he said. High court won't rule in 'redneck' clothes case Victory for student suspended over shirt By GINA HOLLAND THE ASSOCIATED PRESS' WASHINGTON The Supreme Court refused Monday to consider whether students can be barred from taking their redneck humor to class. Justices rejected an appeal from a school district that wanted the court to let it bar redneck attire. It was a victory for a New Jersey teenager suspended for wearing a T-shirt he bought at a Wal-Mart store.

He had also been criticized for wearing shirts with the Confederate flag. The case raised an interesting question about how far school leaders can go to prevent discipline problems, without violating students' free speech rights. An appeals court held that the word "redneck" was not used to intimidate and harass other students, and that the Warren County school overstepped its bounds in punishing Thomas Sypniewski Jr. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals questioned whether schools would next try to stop the use of words such as "hillbilly." Officials in the Warren Hill Regional School District said Sypniewski's shirt, featuring jokes of comedian Jeff Foxworthy, violated an anti-harassment and intimidation policy enacted because of racial tension at the high school.

The policy also banned the display of the Confederate flag on school grounds or at school events. Court records show the school has few black students. James Broscious, the school district's attorney, had urged the court to schedule arguments in the case, telling justices, "This issue is very significant, considering the current situation in our nation's schools, and the need for administrations to be proactive to ensure a safe atmosphere for all the children." Broscious did not immediately return a call for comment Gerald Walpin, attorney for Sypniewski, who has graduated, said there were no problems with redneck shirts at the high school. "This is an appropriate decision given the previous pronouncements by the Supreme Court allowing students to express their opinions through their dress as long as it does not cause disruption or upheaval in the schools," Walpin said Monday. Sypniewski was suspended for three days for wearing the shirt that bore Foxworthy's "Top 10 Reasons You Might Be a Redneck Sports Fan." U.S.

Supreme Court allows Maine to barqain for discount prescription drjufls. A-10 The sports conglomerate that wants to build a new arena in Newark is like a bridegroom with cold tea. This act is getting old. Governor; knows this that's what his aides say, anyway. Does he have the courage to do something': i MIKE KELLY about The idea to build a Newark arena began at that dangerous crossroads where good social intentions intersect with hardball politics.

A new arena in Newark was seen by Mayor. Sharpe James as an economic boon to his struggling city. To McGreevey, the arena was the political payoff to James for delivering the city's African-American voters yet again to Democrats, r-ts It hardly seemed to matter that New Jersey already had a decent basketball and hockey arena in the With Newark's mayor campaigning on behalf of his poor city and McGreevey knowing how difficult it is for a Democrat to win a statewide election without throngs of Newark voters in his pocket, there wasn't much room to debate a basiq question of whether or not a new arena was even needed. Plus, the sports gurus behind the Devils hockey and Nets basketball teams were describing the Continental Arena in the Meadowlands as the sporting equivalent of a coal mine -cramped, with few luxury suites. Oh my.

But voters are not stupid The "outdated" Continental Arena was built in 1981 hot exactly the Jurassic Age. Also, with McGreevey trirrfr ming state programs and even" hiking tuition at state colleges it didn't seem right to talk about the "need" for a new arena. A poll, sponsored last month bjf Fairleigh Dickinson University, confirmed what many suspected: Most New Jerseyans want a Newark arena. Sixty- one percent felt the Newark plan was a "bad idea." Only 17 percent said they would go to an event there, whereas 51 percent said they would be "less likely" to make the trip. You would think such poll numbers would kill the Newark plan.

Think again. Mayor James has become the Jersey version of Sisyphus, seemingly destined to forever push the arena idea uphill. His problem is that he sees himself as Daddy Warbucks. James is so desperate he -wants his beleagured city to pay $210 million of the arena's estimated $355 million cost. That's $45 million more than James offered only last fall.

But YankeeNets, the sports and cable TV partnership campaigning for the new arena, is now balking. YankeeNets asked McGreevey to help it sell luxury boxes to area corporations. Then, last week, YankeeNets i tried to back away from its contribution to the deal, instead asking Newark to lend it $140 million. McGreevey reportedly is miffed. He compared negotiating with YankeeNets to a "moving target" But he's missing the point.

The Newark arena does not need more' negotiations. It needs leadership. The governor needs to step forward and tell the truth, To YankeeNets: Move if you don't like the Meadowlands. Maybe Des Moines or Biloxi or Wichita will build luxury suites. To Mayor James: Newark needs new schools, not an arena.

If James threatens to withhold support on Election Day, then McGreevey should simply give him the phone number to the Republican Party. Maybe James will be happy in the gop. Enough already. Mike Kelly's e-mail address is ASSOCIATED PRESS Police and firefighters attaching a harness to pull a Cessna 175 out of the Atlantic Ocean after the pilot crashed shortly after takeoff Monday in Ocean City. The pilot, Joseph M.

Bennis of Maine, was able to wade ashore. No one else was aboard or in the water. State police leader confirmed Fuentes wins vote in Senate i Residence: Sewell I Family: married, five children landing in the surf came from Sen. Nia Gill, D-Mont-clair, who has opposed his nomination since early on. Gill, the lone African-American on the Judiciary Committee, has said she was disturbed by Fuentes' writings and not convinced that his views had really changed.

Others who expressed doubts, such as Democratic Sen. John Adler of Camden County, said they were convinced that Fuentes had come to a fuller understanding of the profiling crisis. Fuentes has said before that both he and his organization have to pay attention to opposition, and he repeated that view Monday. "You have to look at criticism as an instruction," he said. "We always have to be very attuned to criticism." The confirmation represented a victory also for Governor McGreevey, who chose Fuentes from a short list of finalists selected by a special committee.

McGreevey's first state police superintendent, Joseph Santiago, resigned after a sworn in Sarlo's promotion elections. Furnari's nomination for a Superior Court judgeship and its rapid confirmation in an emergency Senate session this month -allowed Sarlo, the choice of Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero, to take his seat Democratic Assembly candidate Frederick Scalera, a Nutley By JOSH G0HLKE STAFF WRITER The state Senate overwhelmingly confirmed career trooper Joseph "Rick" Fuentes as superintendent of the state police Monday, marking what officials hope to be the end of a long period of instability at the top of the organization. The Senate voted, 37-1, without debate, to approve the governor's nomination of Fuentes, making the last step of his confirmation process the easiest by far. Despite Fuentes' credentials and strong support from the rank and file, his appointment was troubled by an unpublished academic paper in which he doubted the severity of the racial profiling problem and defended drug interdiction techniques that have been linked to the practice. Fuentes said his views on the subject had evolved, and the Senate Judiciary Committee's 9-1 endorsement of him this month signaled that he had all but cleared the hurdle.

In contrast with a lengthy com- mittee hearing, Fuentes kept his remarks to the Senate extremely brief, thanking his wife, Eileen, and identifying his three priorities tor the state police: partnerships with communities, continued reform, and "good, sound law enforcement for every citizen." He said the force would expand upon community-oriented policing efforts that have been successful in Camden, where the state police have assisted with drug enforcement FUENTES GILL and street patrols. "We are going to be embarking on a new era of community partnership," Fuentes said after the vote. The lone vote against Fuentes Democrats speed up side of the State House, where he was a freshman assemblyman, is part of a series of maneuvers designed to put the Democratic Party's chosen in office long before the electorate has a say. The 36th District representing parts of Bergen, Passaic, and Essex counties is expected to be a hotly contested battleground in this fall's Wood-Ridge mayor By JOSH G0HLKE STAFF WRITER Democratic Wood-Ridge Mayor Paul Sarlo took a promotion to the upper house of the Legislature on Monday, when he was sworn in as a state senator, replacing Garry J. Fumari of Nutley.

"It's something I do not take lightly," Sarlo told his new colleagues. Sarlo's jfnove from the other.