Hear ye, hear ye

A New Jersey jurist who earns $165,000 a year insists that it's unconstitutional for the state to require him to contribute more to his pension.

The fact that cops, firefighters, teachers and other public employees in New Jersey are shouldering painful pen/ben cuts doesn't seem to faze Hudson County Superior Court Judge Paul DePascale.

He's filed suit to block increases in annual pension contributions by judges such as himself.

"Outrageous," Gov. Chris Christie tells NJ 101.5 radio host Jim Gearhart. "The highest paid public employees in New Jersey are (trying) to use the constitution to get out of paying their fair share."

According to Christie, a state judge who contributes a total of $50,000 to the pension system over a 10-year period is eligible to draw $107,000 in payments.

And that's just in the first year of retirement.

"This is one of the reasons why our pension systems are such a mess and why we've moved to fix them," Christie said.

Good luck, governor: Apparently Judge DePascale is not alone in having qualms about pension reform.

The New Jersey State Bar Association is calling for repeal of the pen/ben legislation, contending it could threaten the independence of the judiciary.