U.S. Supreme Court justices on Wednesday indicated they might rule in favor of New Jersey leaving a bi-state agency with New York created to police ports, stem the influence of organized crime, and vet dockworkers.
During oral arguments, the justices grilled Judith Vale, New York's deputy solicitor general, who was trying to convince the court that New Jersey's departure from the 70-year-old Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor would "upset and destabilize" the region.
Vale argued that because the states entered into the agreement, they had to agree on when to end it.
But Justice Sonia Sotomayor told Vale that it "doesn't make any sense to say we don't intend this to be perpetual but we're going to let one of the parties keep us there forever. It's a contradiction in terms in my mind."
The commission was created in 1953 in response to the rising influence of organized crime at the ports, including influence over the International Longshoremen's Association union, and criminal behavior at the docks, including cargo theft, gambling, and loansharking. New Jersey has long been viewed as a hub for organized crime in the Northeast because of its vast ports and proximity to News York City.
The commission oversees licensing and inspections at the Port of New York and New Jersey and has its own police force. It led to the creation of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees transportation infrastructure in the region.
"[The commission] is a very important but relatively small enterprise dealing with a particular problem," Chief Justice John Roberts said. "… I'm not sure that either practice or the terms of the compact for the whole Port Authority itself is necessarily pertinent to this really small enterprise."
Vale said when the commission was created, about 70% of shipping business came through New York harbors. But now in the era of container shipping, roughly 80% goes through New Jersey.
"It seems very odd New York's hanging on to this when New Jersey has 82% of the shipping on its side, and … the industry has so dramatically changed to container shipping and no longer net unloading and all of that," Justice Amy Coney Barrett said.
The New Jersey Legislature voted in 2018 to withdraw from the commission, saying state police can do a better job of securing its ports. Then-Gov. Chris Christie signed the measure, starting a legal fight in which a circuit court sided with New Jersey. In March, the Supreme Court issued a preliminary injunction on New Jersey exiting the agreement until it heard and decided on the case.