While the practice is infrequently invoked, it has brought calls for legislation that would forbid its use.
The caucus system rule ended for good, but a faction of the Democratic majority led by Senator James P. Dugan (D-Jersey City), the incumbent Democratic State Chairman, teamed with Republican Senators to continue the practice of Senatorial courtesy.
The vote in the Supreme Court had been 3–3, with Chief Justice Robert Wilentz recusing himself because he had made a statement that opposed its use in the case of Judge Murphy.
[3] In a 2014 opinion piece published in The Record, State Senator Kevin J. O'Toole (R-Essex) wrote: "Over the span of six decades, it has morphed into a tool sometimes used as a bargaining chip in bitter partisan battles."
O'Toole has called for reform of the practice, saying: "Ultimately, the political desires of 40 members of the Senate should not outweigh the needs of 8 million New Jerseyans.