The Supreme Court of New Jersey is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form,the Supreme Court of New Jersey is the final judicial authority on all cases in the state court system,including cases challenging the validity of state laws under the state constitution. It has the sole authority to prescribe and amend court rules and regulate the practice of law,and it is the arbiter and overseer of the decennial legislative redistricting. One of its former members,William J. Brennan Jr.,became an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
The New Jersey Senate is the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844,replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts,representing districts with an average population of 232,225. Each district has one senator and two members of the New Jersey General Assembly,the lower house of the legislature. Prior to the election in which they are chosen,senators must be a minimum of 30 years old and a resident of the state for four years to be eligible to serve in office.
Nia H. Gill is an American Democratic Party politician,who has represented the 34th Legislative District in the New Jersey State Senate since 2002. She ran unsuccessfully as a candidate in the June 2012 primary election to fill the seat in Congress left vacant by the death of Donald M. Payne,the former U.S. Representative for New Jersey's 10th congressional district. Gill was the State Senate President pro Tempore from 2010 to 2018,succeeded by Teresa Ruiz.
Loretta Weinberg is an American Democratic Party politician,who served as a member of the New Jersey Senate from 2005-2022,where she represented the 37th Legislative District. She also served as Senate Majority Leader. Weinberg served in the General Assembly before being selected to replace retiring Senator Byron Baer.
Jaynee LaVecchia is a former associate justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey. She was nominated by Governor Christine Todd Whitman to serve on the court on January 6,2000 and was confirmed by the New Jersey Senate on January 10,2000. In 2007,she was reappointed with tenure by Governor Jon Corzine. Although she could have served until reaching the mandatory retirement age in 2024,LaVecchia has announced her intention to retire from the Court effective December 31,2021,unless her successor was confirmed earlier.
James Ronald Zazzali is an American jurist who served as Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court from October 26,2006,until his retirement on June 17,2007. He previously served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court from June 14,2000.
Barry T. Albin is an American lawyer and former judge from New Jersey. He served as an associate justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court from 2002 to 2022. A Democrat,Albin is noted for his jurisprudence in New Jersey's criminal law,in which his opinions would frequently favor the due-process rights of criminal defendants. He stepped down from the court on July 6,2022,a day prior to turning 70,New Jersey's mandatory retirement age for judges. The final opinion he wrote involved how municipalities may fill vacated seats.
Roberto A. Rivera-Soto is a former Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the State of New Jersey,U.S.A. His seven-year term expired on August 31,2011,and he was not nominated to another term. Since leaving the court,he has resumed practicing law,as a partner with the Ballard Spahr law firm,in their Cherry Hill,New Jersey,office.
Stuart Jeff Rabner is the chief justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court. He served as New Jersey Attorney General,Chief Counsel to Governor Jon Corzine,and as a federal prosecutor at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey.
Zulima Farber is the former Attorney General of New Jersey and the first Latina (Cuban) to serve as Acting Governor of New Jersey. She was appointed Attorney General in 2006 by Governor Jon Corzine and resigned on August 31,2006. She was succeeded by First Assistant Attorney General Anne Milgram on an interim basis until Stuart Rabner took office on September 26,2006.
Lowenstein Sandler is a New Jersey based American law firm with additional offices in New York,Palo Alto,New Jersey,Utah,and Washington,D.C. The firm has approximately 350 attorneys and has been described as "well connected" politically within New Jersey.
Annette M. Quijano is an American Democratic Party politician,who was selected by Union County Democrats to fill a vacancy to represent the 20th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly and has since been re-elected three times to her Assembly seat. Quijano succeeded Neil M. Cohen,who resigned on July 28,2008,amid allegations of child pornography on an official computer.
Vanita Gupta is an American attorney who has served as United States Associate Attorney General since April 22,2021. From 2014 to 2017,Gupta served as Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division under President Barack Obama.
Senatorial courtesy is an unwritten rule practiced in the Senate of the U.S. state of New Jersey under which a State Senator can indefinitely block consideration of a nomination by the Governor of New Jersey for a gubernatorial nominee from the Senator's home county,without being required to provide an explanation. While the practice is infrequently invoked,it has brought calls for legislation that would forbid its use.
Marianne Espinosa,formerly known as Marianne Espinosa Murphy,is a Judge of the Appellate Division of New Jersey Superior Court,and the subject of a political controversy in New Jersey in 1993. She is the ex-wife of Michael Murphy,a former county prosecutor and unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate in New Jersey.
Lee A. Solomon is an associate justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey. He was nominated by Governor Chris Christie to serve on May 21,2014 and confirmed by the New Jersey Senate and sworn in on June 19,2014.
Christopher S. Porrino is an American trial lawyer who served as the Attorney General of New Jersey from 2016 to 2018. Porrino is currently a partner of Lowenstein Sandler,and chair of the firm's Litigation Department.
Paul Brian Matey is an American attorney who serves as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Prior to Matey's judicial service,he was a partner in the White Collar Criminal Defense and Litigation practice groups at the law firm of Lowenstein Sandler LLP. He was previously Senior Vice President,General Counsel,and Secretary at University Hospital in Newark,New Jersey.
Erica Hinkle MacDonald is an American lawyer who served as the United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota from 2018 to 2021. She served as a judge of the District Court for the First Judicial District of the State of Minnesota from 2010 to 2018;as an Assistant United States Attorney from 2000 to 2009;a litigation associate in 2000;and a federal judicial law clerk from 1997 to 1999.
The Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration is the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration,a United States federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Justice,tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the United States. The current administrator is Anne Milgram.
