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Lee B. Laskin

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Lee B. Laskin
Judge of New Jersey Superior Court
In office
1996 – June 2006[a]
Member of the New Jersey Senate
from the 6th Legislative District
In office
January 10, 1978 – January 14, 1992
Preceded byAlene S. Ammond
Succeeded byJohn Adler
Member of the Camden County
Board of Chosen Freeholders
In office
1970–1973
Member of the New Jersey State Assembly
from the Legislative District 3D
In office
January 9, 1968 – January 13, 1970
Serving with John J. Horn
Preceded byDistrict created
Succeeded byJames Florio
Personal details
Born(1936-06-30)June 30, 1936
Atlantic City, New Jersey
DiedApril 18, 2024(2024-04-18) (aged 87)
Evesham, New Jersey
Political partyRepublican
Other political
affiliations		Democratic (formerly)[2]
SpouseAndrea Solomon
Children1
Alma materAmerican University
Temple University
Rutgers School of Law–Camden
OccupationAttorney

Lee B. Laskin (June 30, 1936 – April 18, 2024) was an American attorney, politician and judge who served in both houses of the New Jersey Legislature before being appointed to serve on the New Jersey Superior Court.

Personal life

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Born in Atlantic City, New Jersey on June 30, 1936, Laskin attended Camden High School, graduating as part of the class of 1954. He did his undergraduate studies at American University and Temple University. After earning his law degree from Rutgers School of Law–Camden in 1960, he worked as a law clerk for William T. Cahill.[3]

In 1962, Laskin was appointed by the City of Camden as an assistant city attorney. Two years later, he was appointed as an assistant United States Attorney. Starting in 1966, he entered private practice, working throughout Camden County as a municipal attorney and representing numerous boards of education, as well as various non-profit organizations He founded and served as chairman of Glendale National Bank.[3]

He and his wife Andrea have one daughter, Shari and three grandchildren Samantha, Molly and Matthew Tarnopol.[3]

Public service

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Laskin was elected in 1967 together with Democrat John J. Horn to serve in the New Jersey General Assembly to represent Legislative District 3D, one of four pairs of representatives from the 3rd Legislative District, which was further divided into four Assembly districts (Districts 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D); District 3D included portions of Camden County.[4][5] He served in the Assembly for a single two-year term of office.[3] In January 1968, Laskin was one of two Republican labor leaders who abstained from joining the Republican majority that voted by a 56–11 margin to repeal provisions in state law that had been passed by a Democratic majority in the previous session providing unemployment benefits to workers in labor disputes who were on strike or who had been locked out by their employer.[6] In January 1969, Laskin was one of three legislators who had been identified by officials in the office of the New Jersey Attorney General as being "too comfortable with members of organized crime", allegations that Laskin called a "joke".[7] Evidence was offered that Laskin had been a regular patron at a Mafia-controlled bar, but Laskin testified before an Assembly committee that he had been invited to the bar by a client and had had no knowledge of any mob connections.[8] The assembly's special investigation committee chastised two legislators, but found that there was no evidence to support the claims against Laskin and three other elected officials.[9]

In 1969, Laskin was elected to serve a three-year term on the Camden County Board of Chosen Freeholders.[3]

In 1977, after one-term Democrat Alene S. Ammond lost the support of the Democratic Party establishment, Victor S. Pachter was placed on the primary ballot and was narrowly chosen as the Democratic nominee,[10] while Laskin was chosen to fill the Republican ballot spot that had originally gone to Addison G. Bradley. In the November 1977 general election, Laskin beat Pachter by a 52%–48% margin.[11] He was re-elected to office in 1981, 1983 and again in 1987, when he defeated Maria Barnaby Greenwald of Cherry Hill.[12][13][14]

In 1986, Laskin was criticized by fellow Republicans in the Assembly for casting the final vote necessary to approve an additional term for New Jersey Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert N. Wilentz, a registered Democrat who had been dividing his residence between New Jersey and New York while his wife was undergoing chemotherapy. After being reassured that Wilentz was going to move back to New Jersey after his wife's medical condition had improved, Laskin cast the deciding vote that he described as "the most difficult day I've ever had in the legislature", returning Wilentz for an additional term on the Supreme Court by a 21–19 margin.[15][16]

In his bid for re-election to a fifth term in office, Laskin lost to Democrat John Adler in the 1991 general election. Camden County Democratic Party boss George Norcross decided to target Laskin's seat, after the Senator refused to appoint Norcorss's father to a seat on the New Jersey Racing Commission; in addition to an effort to elect Democrats at the county level, Norcross recruited Adler to run against Laskin.[17] In a particularly bitter race, Adler criticized what he called Laskin's "sweetheart patronage contracts" as attorney for several area municipalities, calling Laskin "parasitic and self-serving, the ultimate political hack", while Lakskin described Adler as "an absolute lunatic".[15] Democrats targeted Laskin with a carefully planned "sneak attack" $250,000 advertising campaign designed to support Adler, after polling information showed that Laskin was particularly vulnerable.[18] Adler charged that Laskin had used his Senate office and staff to distribute invitations to a campaign event and cited Laskin's poor attendance record, which Adler claimed was related to his legal work.[19] Laskin became the only Republican incumbent to lose his seat in the wake of opposition to Democratic Governor James Florio's income tax plan.[20]

In July 1994, Laskin was one of a group of five individuals nominated by Governor Christine Todd Whitman to serve a seven-year term on New Jersey Superior Court; the governor's office stated that he was selected "based on his qualifications, his background... and things like temperament and demeanor".[15]

In September 1998, Judge Laskin ruled that a set of seven embryos created by a couple while they were married should be destroyed after their divorce. The ex-husband had wanted the embryos retained so that they might possibly be implanted or donated, while the ex-wife petitioned for their destruction.[21]

While retiring from the Superior Court in June 2006, Laskin was recalled multiple times to serve as a senior judge. He had been recalled every two years, with the last one beginning in 2014 and ending in 2016.[1]

Laskin died on April 18, 2024 at the age of 87.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Lee B. Laskin". Ballotpedia. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Wildstein, David (April 19, 2024). "Lee Laskin, GOP senator from Camden County, dies at 87". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e Staff. Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey; 1990 Edition, p. 208. J.A. Fitzgerald, 1990. Accessed September 28, 2016. "Mr. Laskin was born June 30, 1936, in Atlantic City. He was graduated from Camden High School in 1954."
  4. ^ New Jersey Senate and Assembly Districts for 1967 Election, New Jersey State Library. Accessed September 29, 2016. "Assembly District 3D shall include the following municipalities located in the county of Camden: borough of Audubon, borough of Audubon Park, city of Camden, and township of Haddon."
  5. ^ Results of the General Election Held on November 7, 1967 Archived July 6, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, Secretary of State of New Jersey. Accessed September 29, 2016.
  6. ^ Sullivan, Ronald. "Striker Benefits Blocked in Jersey", The New York Times, January 23, 1968. Accessed September 20, 2016.
  7. ^ Sullivan, Ronald. "Jersey Officials Confirm 3 Named by Brennan; Legislators Deny They Are 'Too Comfortable' With Organized Criminals", The New York Times, January 4, 1969. Accessed September 30, 2016. "High state officials confirmed tonight the identities of the final three legislators who had been investigated after Assistant State Attorney General William J. Brennan 3d said that some lawmakers had been 'too comfortable with members of organized crime.'"
  8. ^ Sullivan, Ronald. "Brennan Admits He Lacks Proof But Calls Charges 'Good Leads'", The New York Times, January 9, 1969. Accessed September 30, 2016.
  9. ^ Sullivan, Ronald. "Two Legislators Chided in New Jersey; Panel States 'Disapproval' of Ridolfi and Selecky 2 Jersey Legislators Are Chided by Special Panel", The New York Times, January 15, 1969. Accessed September 30, 2016.
  10. ^ Janson, Donald. "Income‐Tax Issue Appears to Help Byrne Ticket in Camden Districts", The New York Times, October 28, 1977. Accessed September 29, 2016. "Instead of backing Senator Ammond then, the organization substituted Victor S. Pachter a Cherry Hill accountant, for Mr. Keating, who moved back to his residence in Mayor Errichetti's district. With the aid of the organization, Mr, Pachter, a former Cherry Hill Councilman, narrowly defeated Senator Ammond."
  11. ^ Results of the General Election Held November 8, 1977 Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, Secretary of State of New Jersey. Accessed September 29, 2016.
  12. ^ Candidates for the Offices of State Senate and General Assembly – 1981 Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Department of State Division of Elections. Accessed September 29, 2016.
  13. ^ Candidates for the Offices of State Senate and General Assembly – 1983 Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Department of State Division of Elections. Accessed September 29, 2016.
  14. ^ Candidates for the Offices of State Senate and General Assembly – 1987 Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Department of State Division of Elections. Accessed September 29, 2016.
  15. ^ a b c Preston, David Lee; and Turcol, Thomas. "Whitman Nominates Laskin For Superior Court He Was A Controversial State Senator Before His 1991 Defeat. Now, He's One Of Five Nominees To The Court.", The Philadelphia Inquirer, July 8, 1994. Accessed September 29, 2016. "As a four-term GOP state senator from Cherry Hill, he was an iconoclast who never voted for a tax increase or a budget. Republicans couldn't count on him; Democrats dubbed him 'Dr. No.' In his final campaign in 1991, his opponent won calling him 'arrogant,' 'parasitic,' 'the ultimate political hack'.... Laskin, 58, one of the most controversial political figures in Camden County, was among five nominees to the New Jersey Superior Court announced by Gov. Whitman to fill vacancies around the state."
  16. ^ Sullivan, Joseph F. "A Close Victory for Chief Judge in Jersey Vote", The New York Times, August 1, 1986. Accessed September 29, 2016. "Senator Lee H. Laskin, Republican of Cherry Hill, who was the lone uncast vote, was in the room with Mr. Russo when Mr. Kean called, and he later cast the deciding vote for reappointment when the Senate session resumed after a recess of more than three hours."
  17. ^ Otterbein, Holly. "Norcrossing the Delaware: How South Jersey’s Political Boss Is Making His Move on Philly", Philadelphia (magazine), May 1, 2016. Accessed September 29, 2016. "Norcross was little more than a regional player 30 years ago. He ran the Camden County Democrats, but the GOP was firmly in control of the board of freeholders. Still, Norcross asked State Senator Lee Laskin, a Republican, for a favor: Would he put Norcross's dad on the New Jersey Racing Commission?"
  18. ^ Sullivan, Joseph F. "Focus Is on a Few Close Races for New Jersey Legislature", The New York Times, November 1, 1991. Accessed September 29, 2016. "In the last week, the Democrats opened a new front by spending $250,000 for television time on Philadelphia stations to help the campaign of a political newcomer, John H. Adler, against the incumbent Republican Senator, Lee B. Laskin of the Sixth Legislative District in Camden County.... Steve DeMicco, executive director of the State Democratic Committee, called the late campaign against Mr. Laskin, who has been in the Senate since 1977, a 'sneak attack,' one that he said had been planned some time ago when polling information convinced the campaign planners that the Republican incumbent could be upset."
  19. ^ Preston, David Lee; and Conway, Chris. "Challenger Has Laskin On Defensive", The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 23, 1991. Accessed September 29, 2016.
  20. ^ Steinberg, Alan. "The Significance of Adler's ObamaCare Vote", PolitickerNJ, November 13, 2009. Accessed September 29, 2016. "In a year where the anti-Florio tax revolt resulted in the Republicans attaining veto-proof majorities in both the state Senate and Assembly, Adler was the only Democrat to defeat an incumbent Republican legislator."
  21. ^ Staff. "Judge Orders Embryos Destroyed", CBS News, September 29, 1998. Accessed September 29, 2016. "In a legal battle between a divorced couple over the custody of seven human embryos, a judge sided with the woman on Monday and ordered the fertilized eggs destroyed, reports Correspondent Chris Carden of CBS Station KYW-TV in Philadelphia.... New Jersey Superior Court Family Judge Lee B. Laskin said that, although the couple had entered into an agreement to have a child, such an understanding ended when the marriage ceased."
  1. ^ While Laskin retired in 2006, he had been recalled to judicial service every two years, with the last one beginning in 2014 and ending in 2016[1]
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