 He was re-elected to office in 1981, 1983 and again in 1987, when he defeated Maria Barnaby Greenwald of Cherry Hill.In 1986, Laskin was criticized by fellow Republicans in the Assembly for casting the final vote necessary to approve an additional term for New Jersey Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert N. Wilentz, a registered Democrat who had been dividing his residence between New Jersey and New York while his wife was undergoing chemotherapy.After being reassured that Wilentz was going to move back to New Jersey after his wife's medical condition had improved, Laskin cast the deciding vote that he described as "the most difficult day I've ever had in the legislature", returning Wilentz for an additional term on the Supreme Court by a 21–19 margin.