Walter M. D. Kern Jr. (March 10, 1937 – June 23, 1998) was an American Republican Party politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1978 to 1990, where he represented the 40th Legislative District.
Disbarred from the practice of law in 1987, Kern faced a primary challenge in 1989 and lost his bid for a chance to run for a seventh term of office.
[2] The Judiciary Committee rejected efforts in June 1978 to legalize prostitution or to eliminate laws banning obscenity for adults, instead choosing to propose allowing municipalities to create "Combat Zone-style" adult entertainment districts (as in Boston) where obscenity laws for those over the age of 18 would not apply.
Kern voted against the legislation, citing the fact that data had shown lower numbers of drunk driving arrests among younger drivers than among older drivers and the ease of access to alcohol for those impacted by the age increase in communities across the New York State border from Bergen County, many of which had targeted teens as customers.
[10][11][12] Kern was Chairman of the Assembly's Judiciary Committee when he was disbarred in December 1987, little more than a month after he had been re-elected to his fifth term of office, after an audit determined that he had misappropriated client funds.