The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (in case citations, D.N.J.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of New Jersey. Cases brought in the District are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit). [edit] History The District of New Jersey was one of the original 13 courts established by the Judiciary Act of 1789, 1 Stat. 73, on September 24, 1789.[1] The District was subdivided into the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New Jersey and the United States District Court for the Western District of New Jersey on February 13, 1801, by the Judiciary Act of 1801, 2 Stat. 89,[1] with the judicial districts being headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and Burlington, New Jersey, respectively. The repeal of the 1801 Act restored New Jersey as a single judicial district on March 8, 1802, 2 Stat. 132.[1] New Jersey is the largest state by population to only have one district court, and is larger in population than several states that have multiple districts. In recent years, Congress has considered several bills, introduced by South Jersey representatives, to divide New Jersey into two districts, a Northern District and a Southern District. For example, such bills were introduced in the 106th Congress in 2000 and the 109th Congress in 2005.[2][3] None of these bills have ever passed either house of Congress. Proponents of the change have cited the caseload of the New Jersey District Court as well as the distance between the seats of the two proposed districts, Newark and Camden (85 miles) as justification for splitting the current district.[2] It has also been observed that such a split would guarantee South Jersey a greater share of judgeships as well as new positions to which residents of the area would be appointed, such as court clerks, U.S. Attorney, U.S. Marshal and Federal Public Defender for the new Southern District. [edit] Jurisdiction The District of New Jersey is divided into three vicinages: Newark, Trenton and Camden. In Newark, the Court operates from two courthouses: The "old" courthouse is the United States Post Office and Court House at One Federal Square. Across Walnut Street is the "new" courthouse—Martin Luther King, Jr. U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building (50 Walnut Street). The Newark vicinage's clerk's office is located in the Martin Luther King building. In Trenton, the Court operates from the Clarkson S. Fisher Building and U.S. Courthouse (402 East State Street). In Camden, the Court is located at the Mitchell H. Cohen Building and U.S. Courthouse (4th and Cooper Streets). The U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. The U.S. Attorney has offices in Newark, Trenton, and Camden. Paul J. Fishman was sworn into office as U.S. Attorney on October 14, 2009.[4] [edit] Current Judges - On June 19, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated District Judge Joseph A. Greenaway to a position on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. His confirmation would create a vacancy in the District.
| Judge | Appointed by | Began active
service | Ended active
service | Ended senior
status | End reason | | Garrett E. Brown Jr. | Ronald Reagan | 01985-12-17 December 17, 1985 | Incumbent | – | – | | Mary Little Cooper | George H. W. Bush | 01992-03-02 March 2, 1992 | Incumbent | – | – | | Jerome B. Simandle | George H. W. Bush | 01992-05-26 May 26, 1992 | Incumbent | – | – | | Joseph A. Greenaway, Jr. | Bill Clinton | 01996-07-26 July 26, 1996 | Incumbent | – | – | | Katharine Sweeney Hayden | Bill Clinton | 01997-09-29 September 29, 1997 | Incumbent | – | – | | Faith S. Hochberg | Bill Clinton | 01999-11-15 November 15, 1999 | Incumbent | – | – | | Joel A. Pisano | Bill Clinton | 02000-02-16 February 16, 2000 | Incumbent | – | – | | Dennis M. Cavanaugh | Bill Clinton | 02000-09-20 September 20, 2000 | Incumbent | – | – | | William J. Martini | George W. Bush | 02002-11-19 November 19, 2002 | Incumbent | – | – | | Jose L. Linares | George W. Bush | 02002-12-03 December 3, 2002 | Incumbent | – | – | | Stanley R. Chesler | George W. Bush | 02002-12-04 December 4, 2002 | Incumbent | – | – | | Robert B. Kugler | George W. Bush | 02002-12-04 December 4, 2002 | Incumbent | – | – | | Freda L. Wolfson | George W. Bush | 02002-12-04 December 4, 2002 | Incumbent | – | – | | Renee Marie Bumb | George W. Bush | 02006-06-12 June 12, 2006 | Incumbent | – | – | | Noel Lawrence Hillman | George W. Bush | 02006-06-12 June 12, 2006 | Incumbent | – | – | | Peter G. Sheridan | George W. Bush | 02006-06-12 June 12, 2006 | Incumbent | – | – | | Susan Davis Wigenton | George W. Bush | 02006-06-12 June 12, 2006 | Incumbent | – | – | | Stanley Seymour Brotman | Gerald Ford | 01975-03-14 March 14, 1975 | 01990-04-23 April 23, 1990 | Incumbent | – | | Dickinson Richards Debevoise | Jimmy Carter | 01979-11-02 November 2, 1979 | 01994-05-01 May 1, 1994 | Incumbent | – | | Anne Elise Thompson | Jimmy Carter | 01979-11-02 November 2, 1979 | 02001-06-01 June 1, 2001 | Incumbent | – | | Joseph H. Rodriguez | Ronald Reagan | 01985-05-10 May 10, 1985 | 01998-05-22 May 22, 1998 | Incumbent | – | | Joseph Eron Irenas | George H. W. Bush | 01992-04-13 April 13, 1992 | 02002-07-01 July 1, 2002 | Incumbent | – | | William H. Walls | Bill Clinton | 01994-10-11 October 11, 1994 | 02005-01-31 January 31, 2005 | Incumbent | – | [edit] Former Judges | Judge | Appointed by | Began active
service | Ended active
service | Ended senior
status | End reason | | David Brearley | George Washington | 01789-09-26 September 26, 1789 | 01790-08-16 August 16, 1790 | – | death | | Robert Morris | George Washington | 01790-08-28 August 28, 1790[5] | 01815-06-02 June 2, 1815 | –[6] | death | | William Sanford Pennington | James Madison | 01815-06-19 June 19, 1815[7] | 01826-09-17 September 17, 1826 | – | death | | William Rossell | John Quincy Adams | 01826-11-10 November 10, 1826[8] | 01840-06-20 June 20, 1840 | – | death | | Mahlon Dickerson | Martin Van Buren | 01840-07-23 July 23, 1840 | 01841-02-16 February 16, 1841 | – | resignation | | Philemon Dickerson | Martin Van Buren | 01841-03-02 March 2, 1841 | 01862-12-10 December 10, 1862 | – | death | | Richard Stockton Field | Abraham Lincoln | 01863-01-14 January 14, 1863 | 01870-04-25 April 25, 1870 | – | resignation | | John T. Nixon | Ulysses Grant | 01870-04-28 April 28, 1870 | 01889-09-28 September 28, 1889 | – | death | | Edward T. Green | Benjamin Harrison | 01889-10-24 October 24, 1889[9] | 01896-10-10 October 10, 1896 | – | death | | Andrew Kirkpatrick | Grover Cleveland | 01896-11-20 November 20, 1896[10] | 01904-05-03 May 3, 1904 | – | death | | William M. Lanning | Theodore Roosevelt | 01904-06-01 June 1, 1904[11] | 01909-05-24 May 24, 1909 | – | reappointment | | Joseph Cross | Theodore Roosevelt | 01905-03-17 March 17, 1905 | 01913-10-29 October 29, 1913 | – | death | | John Rellstab | William Howard Taft | 01909-05-18 May 18, 1909 | 01928-10-10 October 10, 1928 | 01930-09-22 September 22, 1930 | death | | Thomas Griffith Haight | Woodrow Wilson | 01914-02-18 February 18, 1914 | 01919-04-01 April 1, 1919 | – | reappointment | | John Warren Davis | Woodrow Wilson | 01916-05-15 May 15, 1916 | 01920-06-12 June 12, 1920 | – | reappointment | | Charles Francis Lynch | Woodrow Wilson | 01919-07-01 July 1, 1919 | 01925-03-31 March 31, 1925 | – | resignation | | Joseph Lamb Bodine | Woodrow Wilson | 01920-06-02 June 2, 1920 | 01929-03-31 March 31, 1929 | – | resignation | | William Nelson Runyon | Warren G. Harding | 01923-01-16 January 16, 1923 | 01931-11-09 November 9, 1931 | – | death | | William Clark | Calvin Coolidge | 01925-05-21 May 21, 1925[12] | 01938-06-25 June 25, 1938 | – | reappointment | | James William McCarthy | Calvin Coolidge | 01928-10-06 October 6, 1928[13] | 01929-01-31 January 31, 1929 | – | resignation | | Guy Laverne Fake | Calvin Coolidge | 01929-02-12 February 12, 1929 | 01951-02-21 February 21, 1951 | 01957-09-23 September 23, 1957 | death | | John Boyd Avis | Herbert Hoover | 01929-10-02 October 2, 1929 | 01944-01-21 January 21, 1944 | – | death | | Phillip Forman | Herbert Hoover | 01932-06-25 June 25, 1932 | 01959-09-20 September 20, 1959 | – | reappointment | | Thomas Glynn Walker | Franklin D. Roosevelt | 01939-12-20 December 20, 1939[14] | 01941-12-31 December 31, 1941 | – | resignation | | William Francis Smith | Franklin D. Roosevelt | 01941-02-15 February 15, 1941 | 01961-09-12 September 12, 1961 | – | reappointment | | Thomas Francis Meaney | Franklin D. Roosevelt | 01942-07-03 July 3, 1942 | 01966-05-01 May 1, 1966 | 01968-05-17 May 17, 1968 | death | | Thomas M. Madden | Harry S. Truman | 01945-10-25 October 25, 1945 | 01968-01-01 January 1, 1968 | 01976-03-29 March 29, 1976 | death | | Alfred Egidio Modarelli | Harry S. Truman | 01951-01-03 January 3, 1951 | 01957-09-22 September 22, 1957 | – | death | | Richard Hartshorne | Harry S. Truman | 01951-10-20 October 20, 1951 | 01961-10-29 October 29, 1961 | 01975-09-14 September 14, 1975 | death | | Reynier Jacob Wortendyke, Jr. | Dwight D. Eisenhower | 01955-06-08 June 8, 1955 | 01970-06-01 June 1, 1970 | 01975-12-26 December 26, 1975 | death | | Mendon Morrill | Dwight D. Eisenhower | 01958-04-23 April 23, 1958 | 01961-03-12 March 12, 1961 | – | death | | Arthur Stephen Lane | Dwight D. Eisenhower | 01960-08-30 August 30, 1960 | 01967-07-15 July 15, 1967 | – | resignation | | Anthony Thomas Augelli | John F. Kennedy | 01961-09-22 September 22, 1961 | 01972-04-01 April 1, 1972 | 01974-08-31 August 31, 1974 | resignation | | James Aloysius Coolahan | John F. Kennedy | 01962-04-07 April 7, 1962 | 01974-06-01 June 1, 1974 | 01986-07-16 July 16, 1986 | death | | Robert Shaw | John F. Kennedy | 01962-04-12 April 12, 1962 | 01972-07-09 July 9, 1972 | – | death | | Mitchell Harry Cohen | John F. Kennedy | 01962-08-02 August 2, 1962 | 01974-09-11 September 11, 1974 | 01991-01-07 January 7, 1991 | death | | Lawrence Aloysius Whipple | Lyndon B. Johnson | 01967-10-12 October 12, 1967 | 01978-09-01 September 1, 1978 | 01983-06-08 June 8, 1983 | death | | George Herbert Barlow | Richard Nixon | 01969-12-18 December 18, 1969 | 01979-03-04 March 4, 1979 | – | death | | Leonard I. Garth | Richard Nixon | 01969-12-18 December 18, 1969 | 01973-08-29 August 29, 1973 | – | reappointment | | Clarkson Sherman Fisher | Richard Nixon | 01970-10-16 October 16, 1970 | 01987-10-01 October 1, 1987 | 01997-07-27 July 27, 1997 | death | | John Joseph Kitchen | Richard Nixon | 01970-10-16 October 16, 1970 | 01973-09-21 September 21, 1973 | – | death | | Frederick Bernard Lacey | Richard Nixon | 01971-01-26 January 26, 1971 | 01986-02-03 February 3, 1986 | – | retirement | | Vincent Pasquale Biunno | Richard Nixon | 01973-04-17 April 17, 1973 | 01982-03-23 March 23, 1982 | 01991-07-30 July 30, 1991 | death | | Herbert Jay Stern | Richard Nixon | 01973-12-28 December 28, 1973 | 01987-01-04 January 4, 1987 | – | resignation | | Henry Curtis Meanor | Richard Nixon | 01974-06-25 June 25, 1974 | 01983-02-07 February 7, 1983 | – | resignation | | John F. Gerry | Gerald Ford | 01974-12-20 December 20, 1974 | 01994-10-01 October 1, 1994 | 01995-03-10 March 10, 1995 | death | | Harold Arnold Ackerman | Jimmy Carter | 01979-11-02 November 2, 1979 | 01994-02-15 February 15, 1994 | 02009-12-02 December 2, 2009 | death | | H. Lee Sarokin | Jimmy Carter | 01979-11-02 November 2, 1979 | 01994-10-05 October 5, 1994 | – | reappointment | | John Winslow Bissell | Ronald Reagan | 01982-12-10 December 10, 1982 | 02005-09-01 September 1, 2005 | – | retirement | | Maryanne Trump Barry | Ronald Reagan | 01983-10-07 October 7, 1983 | 01999-10-25 October 25, 1999 | – | reappointment | | Joseph H. Rodriguez | Ronald Reagan | 01985-05-10 May 10, 1985 | 01998-05-22 May 22, 1998 | Incumbent | – | | Robert Cowen | Ronald Reagan | 01985-11-04 November 4, 1985 | 01987-11-16 November 16, 1987 | – | reappointment | | Alfred James Lechner, Jr. | Ronald Reagan | 01986-06-09 June 9, 1986 | 02001-10-01 October 1, 2001 | – | resignation | | Nicholas H. Politan | Ronald Reagan | 01987-11-09 November 9, 1987 | 02002-01-04 January 4, 2002 | – | retirement | | Alfred M. Wolin | Ronald Reagan | 01987-12-09 December 9, 1987 | 02000-09-18 September 18, 2000 | 02004-06-30 June 30, 2004 | retirement | | John C. Lifland | Ronald Reagan | 01988-05-20 May 20, 1988 | 02001-06-15 June 15, 2001 | 02007-05-31 May 31, 2007 | retirement | | William G. Bassler | George H. W. Bush | 01991-09-16 September 16, 1991 | 02005-03-06 March 6, 2005 | 02006-08-31 August 31, 2006 | retirement | | Stephen Orlofsky | Bill Clinton | 01995-12-26 December 26, 1995 | 02003-08-31 August 31, 2003 | – | resignation | [edit] References - ^ a b c U.S. District Courts of New Jersey, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center.
- ^ a b http://bulk.resource.org/gpo.gov/bills/106/h3835ih.txt
- ^ http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:H.R.3518.IH:
- ^ "Fishman sworn in as New Jersey's U.S. attorney". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 2009-10-15. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/nj/20091015_Fishman_sworn_in_as_New_Jersey_s_U_S__attorney.html. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 17, 1790, confirmed by the United States Senate on December 20, 1790, and received commission on December 20, 1790.
- ^ During Morris' service on the court, the District of New Jersey was subdivided into the Eastern District of New Jersey and the Western District of New Jersey, with Morris remaining the sole judge for both Districts, and was then reunified into a single District.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 8, 1816, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 9, 1816, and received commission on January 16, 1816.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 13, 1826, confirmed by the United States Senate on December 19, 1826, and received commission on December 19, 1826.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 16, 1889, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 27, 1890, and received commission on January 27, 1890.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 8, 1896, confirmed by the United States Senate on December 15, 1896, and received commission on December 15, 1896.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 6, 1904, confirmed by the United States Senate on December 13, 1904, and received commission on December 13, 1904.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 8, 1925, confirmed by the United States Senate on December 17, 1925, and received commission on December 17, 1925.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 6, 1928, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 8, 1929, and received commission on January 8, 1929.
- ^ Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 16, 1940, confirmed by the United States Senate on March 5, 1940, and received commission on March 13, 1940.
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