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Walter M. D. Kern

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Walter M. D. Kern
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly
from the 40th Legislative District
In office
January 9, 1978 – January 9, 1990
Preceded byC. Gus Rys and John A. Spizziri
Succeeded byDavid C. Russo
Personal details
Born(1937-03-10)March 10, 1937
Jersey City, New Jersey
DiedJune 23, 1998(1998-06-23) (aged 61)
Political partyRepublican
ResidenceRidgewood, New Jersey
Alma materBrown University
Columbia Law School[1]
OccupationAttorney

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.

Life

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Early life

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Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, Kern was raised in Ridgewood, New Jersey, where he graduated from Ridgewood High School. He graduated from Brown University and earned his Juris Doctor degree from Columbia Law School in 1962. He performed additional studies in 1965 at The Hague Academy of International Law.[1]

Career

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One of 29 new members taking office in the 80-member General Assembly in 1978, Kern had been a municipal prosecutor and a hearing officer for the New Jersey Civil Service Commission, among other governmental roles, before winning his first legislative 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 had advocated for the repeal of obscenity laws, arguing that "Adults should be able to purchase whatever their perverted hearts desire".[3] That same month, Kern was among the co-sponsors of a bill introduced in the legislature that would protect reporters' files and notes from search and seizure, in the wake of a ruling by the United States Supreme Court that would allow authorities to perform such searches.[4] The Assembly voted 48-26 in December 1982 to increase the drinking age from 19 to 21. 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.[5] Under legislation sponsored by Kern and adopted in 1988, New Jersey became the first state in the nation to require newly cooperative apartments to have a deed demonstrating ownership of each individual unit as personal property, as a way of minimizing legal entanglements between the co-op as a whole and any single property owner.[6]

Kern was elected in 1977, 1979 and 1981 with W. Cary Edwards, though Edwards didn't take the seat in 1982 to accept a position as counsel to Governor of New Jersey Thomas Kean.[7][8][9] Nicholas Felice won a special election in March 1982 to fill Edwards' seat and was elected with Kern in 1983, 1985 and 1987.[10][11][12]

Disbarment

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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. Despite consenting to the disbarment, Kern said that he was innocent and that he would continue to serve in the Assembly.[1][13] Kern claimed that he was the victim of a witch hunt based on an argument between him and Robert N. Wilentz, the Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court, over legislation proposed by Kern just days before the audit that would have created new positions for judges in New Jersey Superior Court. Kern noted that any discrepancies in client funds identified in the audit had been reimbursed.[14] Days after his disbarment, he met with Speaker of the Assembly and agreed to withdraw his name for consideration for a second two-year term heading the Judiciary Committee, citing the impact of the publicity about the action impacting Kern's ability to lead the committee.[15]

In the June 1989 Republican Party primary, Kern came in fifth place with 3,099 votes, behind Nicholas Felice and David C. Russo, who won the nomination for the two seats from the districts with 8,956 and 7,937 votes respectively, as well as behind Michael DuHaime and William J. Vichiconti, who ran together and received 3,611 and 3,386 votes respectively.[16]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey, 1988, p. 283. Accessed January 22, 2018. "Walter M.D. Kern Jr., Rep., Ridgewood Assemblyman Kern was born in Jersey City March 10, 1937. He was graduated from Ridgewood High School and Brown University, and received his law degree at Columbia Law School in 1962, the year he was admitted to the bar. He also studied at the Academy of International Law in The Hague, Netherlands, in 1965. On Dec. 4, 1987, the Supreme Court announced its disbarment of Mr. Kern for misappropriating escrow and client trust funds."
  2. ^ Waldron, Martin. "The Legislature--A Profile Of Changing Power", The New York Times, February 26, 1978. Accessed January 22, 2018. "Twenty‐nine of the 120 legislators are serving their first terms, 23 of them in the Assembly and six in the Senate.... Walter M. D. Kern Jr., Republican of Ridgewood. He is a lawyer and has been a local prosecutor, supervisor of the state inheritance tax for Bergen County, a hearing officer for the state's Civil Service Commission and counsel to number of local governmental operations."
  3. ^ via Associated Press. "Pornography Zones Proposed In State", The New York Times, June 17, 1978. Accessed January 22, 2018. "New Jersey municipalities could set up "combat zones" to permit live sex shows and the sale and exhibition of obscene materials under legislation approved today by the Assembly Judiciary Committee.... After rejecting a move to eliminate antiobscenity laws for people over age 18, the committee agreed to offer a form of local option by permitting municipalities to establish zones where obscenity laws would not apply.... Arguing for elimination of laws against obscenity, Assemblyman Walter M.D. Kern Jr., Republican of Ridgewood, said, 'Adults should be able to purchase whatever their perverted hearts desire.'"
  4. ^ Waldron, Martin. "Trenton Tops; Barring Search of News Files Proposed", The New York Times, June 22, 1978. Accessed January 22, 2018. "A bill to exempt newspaper files and reporters‧ notes from search and seizure in New Jersey was introduced in the State Legislature today. Assemblyman William L. Gormley, who introduced the bill, said a ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States last month allowing such searches 'seriously undermined a most crucial element in a democratic society: a free and unfettered press.'... The New Jersey bill is co‐sponsored by Assemblymen Martin A. Herman, Democrat of Woodbury, chairman of the Assembly Judiciary Committee, John P. Doyle of Bricktown, the assistant Democratic majority leader, and Walter M. D. Kern, Republican of Ridgewood, a member of the Judiciary Committee."
  5. ^ Sullivan, Joseph F. "Jersey's Legislature Votes To Raise Legal Drinking Age From 19 To 21", The New York Times, December 14, 1982. Accessed January 22, 2018. "The New Jersey Assembly gave final legislative approval tonight to a bill raising the legal drinking age from 19 to 21, effective Jan. 1."
  6. ^ Waite, Thomas L. "Postings: New Jersey Law; Now Co-ops Need a Deed", The New York Times, April 24, 1988. Accessed January 23, 2018. " Buyers of New Jersey cooperative apartments created on or after May 9 must be given a deed along with the bill of sale. The new requirement, the first of its kind in the nation, is contained in the Cooperative Recording Act signed in January and it has both positive and negative implications for buyers. The legislation's sponsor, Assemblyman Walter M. D. Kern Jr., Republican of Ridgewood, said that while the public perception is that cooperatives are real estate, they are not always treated that way by courts and banks."
  7. ^ "Results of the General Election Held November 8, 1977", New Jersey Department of State. Accessed January 22, 2018.
  8. ^ "Results of the General Election Held on November 6, 1979", New Jersey Department of State. Accessed January 22, 2018.
  9. ^ "Candidates for the Offices of State Senate and General Assembly", New Jersey Department of State. Accessed January 22, 2018.
  10. ^ "Candidates for the Offices of State Senate and General Assembly", New Jersey Department of State. Accessed January 22, 2018.
  11. ^ "Candidates for the Office of General Assembly", New Jersey Department of State. Accessed January 22, 2018.
  12. ^ "Candidates for the Offices of State Senate and General Assembly", New Jersey Department of State. Accessed January 22, 2018.
  13. ^ Sullivan, Joseph F. "Head of Judiciary Panel Disbarred in New Jersey", The New York Times, December 5, 1987. Accessed January 22, 2018. "The chairman of the New Jersey Assembly Judiciary Committee was disbarred today by the New Jersey Supreme Court for misappropriating client trust and escrow funds. The chairman, Walter M. D. Kern Jr., Republican of Ridgewood, who was re-elected to his fifth two-year Assembly term last month, consented to the disbarment, acknowledging he could not defend himself against six of seven counts in a formal complaint."
  14. ^ Staff. "Metro Datelines; Disbarment Linked To Judicial Dispute", The New York Times, December 8, 1987. Accessed January 22, 2018. "The chairman of the Assembly Judiciary Committee charged yesterday that his disbarment last week was linked to a disagreement with Chief Justice Robert N. Wilentz of the New Jersey State Supreme Court over proposed legislation. The Assemblyman, Walter M. D. Kern Jr., a Ridgewood Republican, consented to the disbarment on charges of misappropriating client trust and escrow accounts. But he called the audit that led to his disbarment a 'witch hunt' and said his transfers of client funds from 1982 to 1985 were returned, minus his fees, and harmed no one."
  15. ^ "Kern to give up chairmanship", Asbury Park Press, December 10, 1987. Accessed January 22, 2018. "Walter M.D. Kern Jr., disbarred last week for misappropriating client trust funds, has withdrawn his name from consideration for a second two-year term as chairman of the Assembly Judiciary Committee, a top lawmaker said yesterday. Assembly Speaker Chuck Hardwick. R-Union, said that at a Monday meeting Kern raised the issue of whether he could continue to head effectively the powerful committee after his disbarment and the publicity it generated."
  16. ^ Candidates for the Office of General Assembly, 1989, New Jersey Department of State. Accessed January 22, 2018.
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