SCOTUS Frees N.J. From Port Compact With N.Y.

The Supreme Court found in favor of New Jersey on Tuesday, ruling that the state can unilaterally withdraw from the longstanding Waterfront Commission Compact it has with New York.

In the unanimous majority opinion, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said that ruling for New York would have essentially allowed New York to hold neighboring New Jersey hostage by forcing it to remain in the agreement.

According to CNBC, New York and New Jersey jointly created the two-member Waterfront Commission in 1953 to tackle labor corruption in the Port of New York and New Jersey.

The 1954 Marlon Brando movie "On the Waterfront" portrayed the labor-related crime that the commission was set up to address and won eight Academy Awards, including best picture, best actor, and best director.

New Jersey had sought to withdraw from the compact in 2018, arguing that it had outlived its usefulness because organized crime no longer controlled hiring on the docks. The state also argued that the compact had deterred hiring on the docks.

By then, more than 80% of waterfront work hours occurred on the New Jersey side, with approximately the same percentage of cargo passing through the New Jersey side.

When it was the compact was created, about 70% of waterfront workers were on the New York side.

The high court dismissed New York's argument that New Jersey's exit from the compact would harm efforts to fight crime on the docks.

"In sum, background principles of contract law, reinforced here by principles of state sovereignty and the fact that the States did not intend for the Compact to operate forever, indicate that New Jersey may unilaterally withdraw from the Waterfront Commission Compact," Kavanaugh wrote, according to the Washington Examiner.

During oral arguments in March, justices seemed sympathetic to New Jersey's claims. Justice Sonia Sotomayor told New York's Deputy Solicitor General Judith 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."

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