List of justices of the Supreme Court of New Jersey
Current justices
Name | Born | Joined | Term ends | Mandatory retirement | Party affiliation | Appointed by | Law school |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Stuart Rabner, Chief Justice | June 30, 1960 | June 29, 2007 | –[a] | June 30, 2030 | Democratic | Jon Corzine (D) | Harvard |
Anne M. Patterson | April 15, 1959 | September 1, 2011 | –[a] | April 15, 2029 | Republican | Chris Christie (R) | Cornell |
Fabiana Pierre-Louis | September 9, 1980 | September 1, 2020 | September 1, 2027 | September 9, 2050 | Democratic | Phil Murphy (D) | Rutgers |
Douglas M. Fasciale | November 5, 1960 | October 21, 2022[b] | October 21, 2029 | November 5, 2030 | Republican | Phil Murphy (D) | Seton Hall |
Rachel Wainer Apter | July 22, 1980 | October 21, 2022 | October 21, 2029 | July 22, 2050 | Democratic | Phil Murphy (D) | Harvard |
Michael Noriega | March 27, 1978 | July 6, 2023 | July 6, 2030 | March 27, 2048 | Democratic | Phil Murphy (D) | Seton Hall |
seat vacant | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
List of justices before 1947
Before 1947 and particularly after 1844, the structure of the New Jersey state judiciary was incredibly complex. In some cases, it is not entirely clear whether the following justices served on the Supreme Court of New Jersey (1776–), the New Jersey Court of Common Pleas (1704–1947), or the New Jersey Court of Errors and Appeals (1844–1947).
1776 Constitution
This section is missing information about dates.(March 2020) |
Justice | Position | Succeeded | Tenure | |
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Richard Stockton (1730–1781) |
1774 – 1776 (Elected to Continental Congress) | ||
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John De Hart (1730–1781) |
September 4, 1776 – February 1777 (Replaced for failure to attend) | ||
Isaac Smith (1740–1807) |
1777 – 1804 | |||
Robert Morris (1742–1814) |
Chief Justice |
February 5, 1777 – May 25, 1779 (Resigned) | ||
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John Cleves Symmes (1742–1814) |
1777 – 1778 | ||
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David Brearley[1] (1745–1790) |
Chief Justice |
R. Morris | 1779 – September 26, 1789 (Elevated to U.S. District Court) |
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James Kinsey[2] (1731–1802) |
Chief Justice |
D. Brearley | 1789 – January 4, 1802 (Died) |
Andrew Kirkpatrick (1756–1831) |
Associate Justice |
1798 – 1808 (Continued as Chief Justice) | ||
Andrew Kirkpatrick (1756–1831) |
Chief Justice |
J. Kinsey | 1808 – 1825 | |
William Rossell (1760–1840) |
Associate Justice |
1804 – 1826 (Elevated to U.S. District Court) | ||
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William Sanford Pennington (1757–1826) |
Associate Justice |
1805 – 1813 (Elected Governor of New Jersey) | |
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Mahlon Dickerson (1770–1853) |
Associate Justice |
1813 – 1815 (Elected Governor of New Jersey) | |
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Samuel L. Southard (1787–1842) |
1815 – 1820 (Elected to U.S. Senate) | ||
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Charles Ewing[3] (1780–1832) |
Chief Justice |
A. Kirkpatrick | 1825 – August 5, 1832 (Died) |
Joseph Coerten Hornblower (1777–1864) |
Chief Justice |
C. Ewing | 1838 – 1844 (Continued as Chief Justice) | |
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William L. Dayton (1807–1864) |
Associate Justice |
1838 – 1842 (Appointed to U.S. Senate) |
1844 Constitution
This section is missing information about dates.(March 2020) |
Justice | Position | Succeeded | Tenure | Appointed by | |
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Joseph Coerten Hornblower (1777–1864) |
Chief Justice |
1844 – 1846 (Resigned) |
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Joseph Fitz Randolph (1803–1873) |
Associate Justice |
1845 – 1852 (Resigned) |
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Elias B. D. Ogden (1800–1865) |
Associate Justice |
1848 – February 24, 1865 (Died) |
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Garret D. Wall (1783–1850) |
Associate Justice |
1848 – November 22, 1850 (Died) |
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Daniel Haines (1801–1877) |
Associate Justice |
1852 – 1866 |
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Lucius Elmer (1793–1883) |
Associate Justice |
1852 – 1859 |
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Peter Vrendenburgh (1805–1873) |
Associate Justice |
1854 – 1868 |
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Edward W. Whelpley (1818–1864) |
Associate Justice |
1858 – 1861 (Continued as Chief Justice) |
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John Van Dyke (1807–1878) |
Associate Justice |
1859 – 1866 |
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Edward W. Whelpley (1818–1864) |
Chief Justice |
1861 – 1864 |
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George Houston Brown (1810–1865) |
Associate Justice |
1861 – August 1, 1865 (Died) |
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Lucius Elmer (1793–1883) |
Associate Justice |
1861 – 1869 |
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Mercer Beasley (1815–1897) |
Chief Justice |
March 8, 1864 – February 19, 1897 (Died) |
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Joseph D. Bedle (1831–1894) |
Associate Justice |
1865 – January 19, 1875 (Elected Governor of New Jersey) |
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Edward W. Scudder (1822–1893) |
Associate Justice |
1869 – February 3, 1893 (Died) |
Theodore Fitz Randolph | ||
Bennett Van Syckel (1830–1921) |
Associate Justice |
1869 – 1904 |
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Jonathan Dixon (1839–1906) |
Associate Justice |
1875 – May 21, 1906 (Died) |
Joseph D. Bedle | ||
Alfred Reed | Associate Justice |
1875 – 1895 |
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Joel Parker (1816–1888) |
Associate Justice |
1880 – January 2, 1888 (Died) |
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William J. Magie (1832–1917) |
Associate Justice |
1880 – 1897 (Continued as Chief Justice) |
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Charles G. Garrison (1849–1924) |
Associate Justice |
J. Parker | 1888 – 1893 (Resigned) |
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David A. Depue (1826–1902) |
Associate Justice |
1889 – 1900 (Continued as Chief Justice) |
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Manning M. Knapp (1825–1892) |
Associate Justice |
1889 – January 26, 1892 (Died) |
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George Theodore Werts (1846–1910) |
Associate Justice |
M. Knapp | 1892 – January 17, 1893 (Elected Governor of New Jersey) |
Leon Abbett |
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Job H. Lippincott (1842–1900) |
Associate Justice |
G. T. Werts | 1893 – 1900 (Died) |
George Theodore Werts |
Joseph H. Gaskill (1851–1935) |
Associate Justice |
1893 – 1896 | |||
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Leon Abbett (1836–1894) |
Associate Justice |
1893 – December 4, 1894 (Died) | ||
William Stryker Gummere (1852–1933) |
Associate Justice |
1895 – November 19, 1901 (Continued as Chief Justice) | |||
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George C. Ludlow (1830–1900) |
Associate Justice |
1895 – December 18, 1900 (Died) | ||
Charles G. Garrison (1849–1924) |
Associate Justice |
1895 – 1920 (Resigned) |
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William H. Vredenburgh | Associate Justice |
1897 – 1916 |
John W. Griggs | ||
Gilbert Collins (1846–1920) |
Associate Justice |
March 2, 1897 – 1903 (Resigned) | |||
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William J. Magie (1832–1917) |
Chief Justice |
M. Beasley | 1897 – 1900 (Elevated to Chancellor of the Court of Errors and Appeals) | |
David A. Depue (c. 1827–1902) |
Chief Justice |
W. J. Magie | 1900 – 1901 (Resigned) |
Foster M. Voorhees | |
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John Franklin Fort (1852–1920) |
Associate Justice |
1900 – 1907 (Elected Governor of New Jersey) | ||
William Stryker Gummere (1852–1933) |
Chief Justice |
D. Depue | November 19, 1901 – 1933 (Died) |
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Mahlon Pitney (1858–1924) |
Associate Justice |
November 19, 1901 – 1908 | ||
Thomas Whitaker Trenchard (1863–1942) |
Associate Justice |
January 15, 1907 – 1941 (Resigned) |
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Charles Wolcott Parker (1862–1948) |
Associate Justice |
1907 – 1942 |
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James J. Bergen (1847–1923) |
Associate Justice |
1907 – 1915 |
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Charles C. Black (1858–1947) |
Associate Justice |
1914 – 1939 |
James Fairman Fielder | ||
Frank S. Katzenbach (1868–1929) |
Associate Justice |
1920 – March 13, 1929 (Died) |
Edward I. Edwards | ||
Joseph Lamb Bodine (1883–1950) |
Associate Justice |
1929 – 1948 |
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Clarence E. Case (1877–1961) |
Associate Justice |
1929 – 1946
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Ralph W. E. Donges (1875–1974) |
Associate Justice |
1930 – 1948 (Constitution of 1947) |
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Thomas J. Brogan (1889–1965) |
Associate Justice |
1932 – 1933 (Continued as Chief Justice) |
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Joseph B. Perskie (1885–1957) |
Associate Justice |
1933 – 1948 (Constitution of 1947) |
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Harry Heher (1889–1972) |
Associate Justice |
1933 – 1948 (Constitution of 1947) |
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Thomas J. Brogan (1889–1965) |
Chief Justice |
W. S. Gummere | 1933 – 1946 (Resigned) |
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Newton Hazelton Porter (1815–1897) |
Associate Justice |
1938 – 1945 |
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Frederic R. Colie (1895–1974) |
Associate Justice |
1941 – 1948 (Constitution of 1947) |
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A. Dayton Oliphant (1887–1963) |
Associate Justice |
N. H. Porter | 1945 – 1946 |
Walter Evans Edge | |
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Clarence E. Case (1877–1961) |
Chief Justice |
T. Brogan | 1946 – 1948 (Constitution of 1947) | |
William A. Wachenfeld (1889–1969) |
Associate Justice |
1946 – 1948 (Constitution of 1947) | |||
Howard Eastwood (1884–1976) |
Associate Justice |
1946 – 1948 (Constitution of 1947) | |||
Albert E. Burling (1891–1960) |
Associate Justice |
1947 – 1948 (Constitution of 1947) |
Supreme Court justices under 1947 Constitution
This section is missing information about dates.(March 2020) |
List of justices
Justice | Position | Succeeded | Tenure | Appointed by | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Arthur T. Vanderbilt (1888–1957) |
Chief Justice |
Inaugural | 1948 – June 16, 1957 (Died) |
Alfred E. Driscoll | |
2 | Albert E. Burling (1891–1960) |
Associate Justice |
Inaugural | 1948 – October 29, 1960 (Died) | ||
3 | Harry Heher (1889–1972) |
Associate Justice |
Inaugural | 1948 – March 20, 1959 (Mandatory retirement) | ||
4 | William A. Wachenfeld (1889–1969) |
Associate Justice |
Inaugural | 1948 – February 24, 1959 (Mandatory retirement) | ||
5 | A. Dayton Oliphant (1887–1963) |
Associate Justice |
Inaugural | 1948 – October 28, 1957 (Mandatory retirement) | ||
6 | ![]() |
Clarence E. Case (1877–1961) |
Associate Justice |
Inaugural | 1948 – 1952 (Resigned) | |
7 | Henry E. Ackerson Jr. (1880–1970) |
Associate Justice |
Inaugural | 1948 – 1952 (Resigned) | ||
8 | Nathan L. Jacobs (1905–1989) |
Associate Justice |
C. Case | 1952 – 1975 (Mandatory retirement) | ||
9 | ![]() |
William J. Brennan Jr. (1906–1997) |
Associate Justice |
H. E. Ackerson | 1951 – 1956 (Elevated to U.S. Supreme Court) | |
10 | Joseph Weintraub (1908–1977) |
Associate Justice |
W. J. Brennan | 1956 – 1957 (Continued as Chief Justice) |
Robert Meyner | |
10 | Joseph Weintraub (1908–1977) |
Chief Justice |
A. Vanderbilt | 1957 – 1973 | ||
11 | Haydn Proctor (1903–1996) |
Associate Justice |
A. Oliphant | October 28, 1957 – 1973 (Mandatory retirement) | ||
12 | John J. Francis (1903–1984) |
Associate Justice |
J. Weintraub | 1957 – 1973 (Mandatory retirement) | ||
13 | Frederick Wilson Hall (1908–1984) |
Associate Justice |
W. Wachenfeld | 1959 – February 1975[4] (Resigned) | ||
14 | C. Thomas Schettino (1907–1983) |
Associate Justice |
H. Heher | October 1959 – 1972 | ||
15 | Vincent S. Haneman (1902–1978) |
Associate Justice |
A. Burling | 1960 – 1971 | ||
16 | Worrall Frederick Mountain (1909–1992) |
Associate Justice |
V. Haneman | 1971 – 1979 |
William Cahill | |
Pierre P. Garven (1925–1973) |
Associate Justice |
C. T. Schettino[5] | April 1973 – September 1973 (Continued as Chief Justice) | |||
17 | Mark Sullivan (1911–2001) |
Associate Justice |
J. Francis[5] | March 23, 1973 – August 11, 1981 (Mandatory retirement) | ||
18 | Robert L. Clifford (1924–2014) |
Associate Justice |
P. Garven[6] | 1973 – 1994 (Mandatory retirement) | ||
19 | Morris Pashman (1912–1999) |
Associate Justice |
H. Proctor[6] | April 1973 – 1982 (Mandatory retirement) | ||
20 | Pierre P. Garven (1925–1973) |
Chief Justice |
J. Weintraub[6] | September 1, 1973 – October 19, 1973 (Died) | ||
21 | ![]() |
Richard J. Hughes (1909–1992) |
Chief Justice |
P. Garven | December 18, 1973 – August 10, 1979 (Mandatory retirement) | |
22 | Sidney Schreiber (1915–2009) |
Associate Justice |
N. Jacobs | 1975 – 1984 (Resigned) |
Brendan Byrne | |
23 | Alan B. Handler (1931–) |
Associate Justice |
F. W. Hall[4] | 1977 – 1999 (Resigned) | ||
24 | Stewart G. Pollock (1932–) |
Associate Justice |
W. F. Mountain | June 28, 1979 – 1999
| ||
25 | Robert Wilentz (1927–1996) |
Chief Justice |
R. Hughes | 1979 – July 23, 1996
| ||
26 | Daniel Joseph O'Hern (1930–2009) |
Associate Justice |
M. Sullivan | August 6, 1981 – 2000
| ||
27 | Marie L. Garibaldi (1934–2016) |
Associate Justice |
M. Pashman | November 17, 1982 – 2000
|
Thomas Kean | |
28 | Gary S. Stein (1933–) |
Associate Justice |
S. Schreiber | January 11, 1985 – 2002 (Resigned) | ||
29 | James H. Coleman (1933–) |
Associate Justice |
R. Clifford | 1994 – 2003 |
Christine Todd Whitman | |
30 | Deborah Poritz (1936–) |
Chief Justice |
R. Wilentz | July 10, 1996 – October 25, 2006 (Mandatory retirement) | ||
31 | Peter Verniero (1959–) |
Associate Justice |
S. Pollock | 1999 – 2004 (Resigned) | ||
32 | Virginia Long (1942–) |
Associate Justice |
A. Handler | September 1, 1999 – March 1, 2012 (Mandatory retirement) | ||
33 | James R. Zazzali (1937–) |
Associate Justice |
D. J. O'Hern | May 25, 2000 – October 26, 2006 (Continued as Chief Justice) | ||
34 | Jaynee LaVecchia (1954–) |
Associate Justice |
M. Garibaldi | February 1, 2000 – December 31, 2021 (Retired) | ||
35 | Barry T. Albin (born 1952) |
Associate Justice |
G. Stein | September 18, 2002 – July 6, 2022 (Retired) |
James McGreevey | |
36 | John E. Wallace Jr. (1953–) |
Associate Justice |
J. Coleman | May 20, 2003 – May 20, 2010 (Not re-nominated) | ||
37 | Robert A. Rivera-Soto (1953–) |
Associate Justice |
P. Verniero | September 1, 2004 – August 31, 2011 (Not re-nominated) | ||
33 | James R. Zazzali (1937–) |
Chief Justice |
D. Poritz | October 26, 2006 – June 17, 2007 (Mandatory retirement) |
Jon Corzine | |
38 | Helen Hoens (1937–) |
Associate Justice |
J. Zazzalli | October 26, 2006 – October 26, 2013 (Not re-nominated) | ||
39 | Stuart Rabner (born 1960) |
Chief Justice |
J. Zazzali | June 29, 2007 – Incumbent | ||
40 | Anne Patterson (born 1959) |
Associate Justice |
R. Rivera-Soto | September 1, 2011 – Incumbent |
Chris Christie | |
41 | Faustino J. Fernandez-Vina (1952–) |
Associate Justice |
H. Hoens | November 19, 2013 – February 15, 2022 (Mandatory retirement) | ||
42 | Lee Solomon (born 1954) |
Associate Justice |
V. Long | June 19, 2014 – Incumbent | ||
43 | Walter F. Timpone (1950–) |
Associate Justice |
J. Wallace (2011) |
May 2, 2016 – August 31, 2020 | ||
44 | Fabiana Pierre-Louis (1980–) |
Associate Justice |
W. Timpone | September 1, 2020 – Incumbent |
Phil Murphy | |
45 | Douglas M. Fasciale (1960–) |
Associate Justice |
F. Fernandez-Vina | September 1, 2022 – Incumbent | ||
46 | Rachel Wainer Apter (1980/1981–) |
Associate Justice |
J. LaVecchia | October 21, 2022 – Incumbent | ||
47 | Michael Noriega (1977/1978–) |
Associate Justice |
B. Albin | July 6, 2023 – Incumbent |
Acting justices
Wallace vacancy
On May 3, 2010, Governor Chris Christie declined to re-nominate John E. Wallace Jr., whose seven-year term expired on May 20, 2010. He was the first Justice of the Supreme Court to be denied tenure in more than a half-century since the adoption of the Constitution of New Jersey in 1947.[7] To fill the vacancy Chief Justice Stuart Rabner appointed a number of acting judges (known as Judge of the Appellate Division, Temporarily Assigned to the Supreme Court[8]) during an extended period of controversy and conflict with the New Jersey Senate about the court's political composition.[9][10]
LaVecchia/Albin/Fernandez-Vina vacancies
On March 8, 2021, Justice Jaynee LaVecchia announced that she would retire on August 31, 2021, more than three years before her mandatory retirement date.[11] A week later, Governor Phil Murphy announced his intention to nominate Rachel Wainer Apter, the director of the New Jersey Division of Civil Rights, to replace LaVecchia.[12] Apter was blocked for 14 months by Republican Senator Holly Schepisi by a process called senatorial consent (similar to the blue slip process for federal judgeships),[13] and was only allowed to move forward after two more justices, Barry T. Albin and Faustino J. Fernandez-Vina, had reached retirement age in the interim and Gov. Murphy nominated Republican Douglas M. Fasciale to succeed Fernandez-Vina.[14] Both Apter and Fasciale were confirmed on October 17, 2022.[15] Additionally, Michael Noriega was nominated and confirmed in 2023 to succeed Albin.
LaVecchia vacancy:
Albin vacancy:
Fernandez-Vina vacancy:
Timeline of justices
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/timeline/pwest3nrgtpmmq0j39ijnn8cuau26qy.png)
See also
Notes
- ^ a b At the end of their initial seven-year term, the justice was renominated for tenure and was confirmed by the New Jersey Senate to serve until the mandatory retirement age of 70.
- ^ Fasciale served in a temporary appointment from September 1–October 21, 2022
References
- ^ The Founding Fathers: New Jersey - David Brearly Archived 2008-05-16 at the Wayback Machine, National Archives and Records Administration. Accessed November 27, 2007.
- ^ James Kinsey Archived 2007-03-12 at the Wayback Machine, Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Accessed August 15, 2007.
- ^ Manuscript Group 283, Ewing Family (Trenton, NJ) Archived 2007-10-05 at the Wayback Machine, accessed January 9, 2007.
- ^ a b "Metropolitan Area News in Brief". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 22 Mar 1977. p. 12.
- ^ a b New Jersey Register. Vol. 5. New Jersey State Library: State of New Jersey. 1973. p. 129.
- ^ a b c Sullivan, Ronald (19 Apr 1973). "Cahill Names Two Justices And Supreme Court Chief: Nominees Praised 2 Meyner Nominees". The New York Times. p. 90.
- ^ "The Politicization of a Respected Court" Archived 2020-08-31 at the Wayback Machine, The New York Times, December 16, 2010; accessed May 19, 2014.
- ^ "A new title for temporary Supreme Court members: The Auditor". June 2014. Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
- ^ "Appellate judge appointed temporary N.J. Supreme Court justice". 11 June 2011. Archived from the original on 22 July 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
- ^ "A political fight provides N.J. Supreme Court with apolitical legal mind". 24 October 2010. Archived from the original on 22 July 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
- ^ Wildstein, David (March 8, 2021). "LaVecchia will retire, opening Supreme Court nomination for Murphy". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
- ^ "Governor Murphy Announces Intention to Nominate Rachel Wainer Apter to Serve on the New Jersey Supreme Court" (Press release). Retrieved March 15, 2021.
- ^ Fox, Joey (October 6, 2021). "Murphy optimistic on Wainer Apter nomination despite long delay". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
- ^ Sobko, Katie (September 14, 2022). "Murphy to name Republican to Supreme Court in deal with Bergen County's Schepisi". North Jersey Media Group. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
- ^ Biryukov, Nikita (October 17, 2022). "Lawmakers confirm two for New Jersey Supreme Court seats". New Jersey Monitor. Retrieved October 31, 2022.