Last month, the New Jersey State Supreme Court ruled that Governor Jon Corzine did not have to release emails he exchanged with his ex-girlfriend, a former union leader, named Carla Katz. The ruling culminated a legal battle which ran for almost two years.

With the state supreme court’s ruling they essentially shutdown an effort by the Republicans, particularly the efforts led by Republican Party leader Tom Wilson,  to reveal the contents of emails sent by the Governor’s office. The Supreme Court ruled that to do so would cripple the Governor’s ability to run the affairs of the state of New Jersey.

The Republican efforts centered on public emails that were exchanged by Governor Jon Corzine, a Democrat, and his staff with Carla Katz during labor talks in the years 2006 and 2007.

The Republican argument to release the emails was an attempt to discover whether any negotiations had taken place in the back room during the labor talks between the union and the state. The basis for these suspicions was because of a previous relationship between the Governor and the former union leader. Governor Corzine and Katz had dated prior to the Governor taking the oath of office.

This was the second time that a court had ruled against releasing the emails. The court cases had first started out when a trial judge ruled that the emails be released. Later, an appellate court reversed that decision and unanimously ruled against the release. The Republican leader, Tom Wilson, was also admonished by the court for basing his efforts merely on suspicions of unethical practices.

Once the Republican’s lost that ruling they then petitioned the State Supreme Court and ultimately lost a second time with the latest ruling in support of the appellate court’s decision to reverse the initial judgment and to not release the emails.

It’s been estimated by the State Attorney General’s Office that the cost to the State of New Jersey was approximately $114,000 spent working on this case.