Gov. Christie Appears to Give Up on Court Pick

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie appears to be giving up on getting one of his Supreme Court nominees confirmed, and has instead filed a notice of intent to nominate Robert Hanna as a lower court judge.

In an email from the governor's office to key lawmakers Thursday, Christie filed required pre-nomination documents on Hanna, acting Attorney General John Hoffman and six other pending Superior Court nominees.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the email.

The notice of intent must be filed seven days before a nomination is made.

The nominations to the Supreme Court for Hanna, who is head of the Board of Public Utilities, and Superior Court Judge David Bauman expire Jan. 14.

Democrats have not scheduled confirmation hearings on either nominee in over a year.

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