A Simple Legal Question

Cipel --who had the gay affair with McGreevey, the announcement of which preceded the NJ governor's resignation -- has declared he will not sue for sexual harrassment. The statute of limitations (2 years since separation) expires on Monday.

Now, McGreevey resigned because -- and only because -- this bombshell (a gay affair with a poorly qualified and richly paid aide) would have ruined him politically. However, arguments have ensued regarding his Nov 15 resignation date: if he stepped down before Sept 3, the voters get a special election to replace him (very democratic, little d); after Sept 3, his term is filled out by the Senate President (a fellow Democrat, big D). Republicans criticise him for trumping little d with big D.

But, does the Nov 15 resignation date give him a shot at staying? McGreevey needed to nulllify this lawsuit, and announcing his resignation and coming out did just that -- the lawsuit threat has passed. Also, his announcement that he's gay was pretty much taken with a collective shrug -- so what?

My legal question is simple: are there legal conditions under which McGreevey can nullify his own announced resignation? Who accepts his resignation under New Jersey law? (Usually, me-thinks, it is the Supreme Court who accepts a resignation from an Executive.) Can they refuse it? Can McGreevey renege on it?

It would, in part, explain why he set his resignation date so far into the future -- it was meant to cover the statute of limitations for the lawsuit, and offer a suitable "cooling down" period, during which the political winds shift, making it safe to change tacks, and sail back into office.