For New Jersey’s counties, Wright v. New Jersey was sweet. That Supreme Court decision last year upended 30 years of tradition by saying the state is responsible for the defense of county prosecutors sued for trampling defendants’ rights and for indemnification if necessary.

“I think of it as a lollipop worth millions of dollars to counties,” says John Donnadio, legislative director of the New Jersey Association of Counties. “Now they’re trying to take it away.”