United States District Court for the District of New Jersey

District of New Jersey
Third Circuit
Judgeships
Posts: 17
Judges: 17
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief: Renee Bumb
Active judges: Madeline Arleo, Renee Bumb, Georgette Castner, Claire Cecchi, Michael Farbiarz, Edward Kiel, Robert Kirsch, Brian R. Martinotti, Julien Xavier Neals, Christine O'Hearn, Evelyn Padin, Zahid Quraishi, Esther Salas, Jamel Semper, Michael Shipp, Susan Wigenton, Karen Williams Senior judges: Stanley Chesler, Mary Cooper, Katharine Hayden, Noel Hillman, Robert Kugler, William Martini, Kevin McNulty, Joseph Rodriguez, Peter Sheridan, Anne Thompson

The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey is one of 94 United States district courts. It was established in 1789. The court operates out of three locations, Camden, Newark and Trenton, New Jersey. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, based in downtown Philadelphia at the James Byrne Courthouse.

Vacancies

See also: Current federal judicial vacancies

There is one current vacancy on the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, out of the court's 17 judicial positions.

Pending nominations

There are no pending nominees for this court.

Active judges

Article III judges

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Renee Bumb	George W. Bush (R)	June 12, 2006 -	The Ohio State University, 1981	Rutgers University Law, 1987
Susan Wigenton	George W. Bush (R)	June 12, 2006 -	Norfolk State University, 1984	College of William and Mary, 1987
Claire Cecchi	Barack Obama (D)	June 14, 2011 -	Columbia University, 1982	Fordham University Law, 1989
Esther Salas	Barack Obama (D)	June 14, 2011 -	Rutgers University, 1991	Rutgers University Law, 1994
Michael Shipp	Barack Obama (D)	July 26, 2012 -	Rutgers University, 1987	Seton Hall University Law, 1994
Madeline Arleo	Barack Obama (D)	November 21, 2014 -	Rutgers College, 1985	Seton Hall Law, 1989
Brian R. Martinotti	Barack Obama (D)	July 11, 2016 -	Fordham University, 1983	Seton Hall University School of Law, 1986
Julien Xavier Neals	Joe Biden (D)	June 22, 2021 -	Morehouse College, 1982	Emory University of Law, 1991
Zahid Quraishi	Joe Biden (D)	June 22, 2021 -	John Jay College of Criminal Justice, 1997	Rutgers Law School, Newark, 2000
Christine O'Hearn	Joe Biden (D)	October 22, 2021 -	University of Delaware, 1990	Temple University, James E. Beasley School of Law, 1993
Karen Williams	Joe Biden (D)	November 1, 2021 -	Pennsylvania State University, 1985	Temple University, James E. Beasley School of Law, 1992
Georgette Castner	Joe Biden (D)	April 5, 2022 -	The College of New Jersey, 2002	Rutgers University School of Law, 2006
Evelyn Padin	Joe Biden (D)	June 24, 2022 -	Rutgers University, 1983	Seton Hall University School of Law, 1992
Michael Farbiarz	Joe Biden (D)	May 5, 2023 -	Harvard University, 1995	Yale Law School, 1999
Robert Kirsch	Joe Biden (D)	May 8, 2023 -	Emory University	Fordham University School of Law
Jamel Semper	Joe Biden (D)	December 1, 2023 -	Hampton University, 2003	Rutgers University School of Law, 2007
Edward Kiel	Joe Biden (D)	March 25, 2024 -	Rutgers University, 1988	Notre Dame Law School, 1991

Active Article III judges by appointing political party

The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

• Democratic appointed: 15
• Republican appointed: 2

Senior judges

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Joseph Rodriguez	Ronald Reagan (R)	May 22, 1998 -	LaSalle University, 1955	Rutgers University Law, 1958
Anne Thompson	Jimmy Carter (D)	June 1, 2001 -	Howard University, 1955	Howard University Law, 1964
Katharine Hayden	Bill Clinton (D)	May 30, 2010 -	Marymount Manhattan College, 1963	Seton Hall University Law, 1975
Mary Cooper	George H.W. Bush (R)	August 31, 2011 -	Bryn Mawr College, 1968	Villanova University Law, 1972
William Martini	George W. Bush (R)	February 10, 2015 -	Villanova University, 1968	Rutgers University Law, 1972
Stanley Chesler	George W. Bush (R)	June 15, 2015 -	Harpur College, 1968	St. John's University School of Law, 1974
Peter Sheridan	George W. Bush (R)	June 14, 2018 -	St. Peter's College, 1972	Seton Hall University Law, 1977
Robert Kugler	George W. Bush (R)	November 2, 2018 -	Syracuse University, 1975	Rutgers University Camden Law School, 1978
Noel Hillman	George W. Bush (R)	April 4, 2022 -	Monmouth University, 1981	Seton Hall University Law, 1985
Kevin McNulty		October 31, 2023 -	Yale University, 1976	New York University Law, 1983

Senior judges by appointing political party

The list below displays the number of senior judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

• Democratic appointed: 2
• Republican appointed: 7

Magistrate judges

Federal magistrate judges are federal judges who serve in United States district courts, but they are not appointed by the president and they do not serve life terms. Magistrate judges are assigned duties by the district judges in the district in which they serve. They may preside over most phases of federal proceedings, except for criminal felony trials. The specific duties of a magistrate judge vary from district to district, but the responsibilities always include handling matters that would otherwise be on the dockets of the district judges. Full-time magistrate judges serve for renewable terms of eight years. Some federal district courts have part-time magistrate judges, who serve for renewable terms of four years.

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Mark Falk		March 1, 2002 -	Antioch College, 1974	New York Law School, 1977
Ann Donio		March 24, 2003 -	Rutgers University, 1982	Rutgers University Law, 1988
Tonianne Bongiovanni		April 14, 2003 -	New Jersey City University, 1980	Seton Hall Law, 1988
Cathy L. Waldor		July 25, 2011 -		Seton Hall Law School, 1977
Michael A. Hammer		July 25, 2011 -		Seton Hall Law School, 1993
James B. Clark III		July 15, 2013 -	University of Notre Dame, 1983	Seton Hall University School of Law, 1986
Leda Dunn Wettre		April 2, 2015 -	University of Pennsylvania, 1990	Fordham Law School, 1993
Jessica Allen	United States District Court for the District of New Jersey	February 17, 2021 -	Rutgers University, 1992	Seton Hall University School of Law, 1996
Matthew Skahill	United States District Court for the District of New Jersey	March 9, 2021 -	College of the Holy Cross, 2001	University of Connecticut School of Law, 2004
André Espinosa	United States District Court for the District of New Jersey	March 24, 2021 -	University of Kansas	Rutgers School of Law
Sharon King	United States District Court for the District of New Jersey	April 22, 2021 -	Boston University	Rutgers University School of Law, Camden, 1993

Former chief judges

In order to qualify for the office of chief judge in an Article III circuit or district court, or on the United States Court of International Trade, a judge must be in active service and hold seniority over the court's commissioned judges who are 64 years of age or under, have served one year or more, and have not previously served as chief judge.

In the event that no judge on the court meets those qualifications, the youngest judge in regular active service aged 65 years or more and who has served as a judge for one year or more shall become chief judge. If no judge meets those qualifications, the judge holding seniority in active service who has not served as chief before shall become the chief judge.

The chief judge serves for a term of seven years until another judge becomes eligible to serve in the position. No judge is permitted to serve as chief judge after reaching the age of 70 years unless no other judge is qualified to serve.

Unlike the chief justice of the United States, a chief judge returns to active service after the expiration of their term and does not create a vacancy on the court by the fact of their promotion.

On the United States Court of Federal Claims, the chief judge is selected by the president of the United States. The judge must be less than 70 years of age. A chief may serve until they reach age 70 or until another judge is designated by the president as the new chief judge. If the president selects a new chief judge, the former chief judge may continue active service on the court for the remainder of their appointed term.

Freda Wolfson - (2019 - 2023) Jose Linares - (2017-2019) Jerome Simandle - (2012-2017) Bruce Black - (2010 - 2012) Martha Vazquez - (2003 - 2010) James Parker - (2000 - 2003) John Conway - (1994 - 2000) Juan Burciaga - (1989 - 1994)

Santiago Campos - (1987 - 1989) Howard Bratton - (1978 - 1987) Harry Payne - (1964 - 1978) Waldo Rogers - (1963 - 1964) Carl Hatch - (1954 - 1963)

Former judges

For more information on judges of the District of New Jersey, see former federal judges for the District of New Jersey.

Jurisdiction

New Jersey counties (click for larger map)

The District of New Jersey has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

Caseloads

This section contains court management statistics dating back to 2010. It was last updated in September 2024. Click [show] below for more information on caseload terms and definitions.

Caseload statistics explanation
Term	Explanation
Cases filed and terminated	The number of civil and criminal lawsuits formally initiated or decided by the court in a calendar year. The chart below reflects the table columns Cases filed and Cases terminated.
Average time from filing to disposition	The average amount of time, in months, from a case's date of filing to date of disposition (acquittal, sentencing, dismissal, etc.). The chart below reflects the table columns Median time (Criminal) and Median time (Civil).
Starting case load	The number of cases pending from the previous calendar year.
Cases filed	The number of civil and criminal lawsuits formally initiated in a calendar year.
Cases terminated	The total number of civil and criminal lawsuits decided by the court in a calendar year.
Remaining cases	The number of civil and criminal cases pending at the end of a given year.
Median time (Criminal)	The average amount of time, in months, from a case's date of filing to the date of disposition. In criminal cases, the date of disposition occurs on the day of sentencing or acquittal/dismissal.
Median time (Civil)	The average amount of time, in months, from a case's date of filing to the date of disposition.
Three-year civil cases	The number and percent of civil cases that were filed more than three years before the end of the given calendar year.
Vacant posts	The number of months during the year an authorized judgeship was vacant.
Trial/Post	The number of trials completed divided by the number of authorized judgeships on the court. Trials include evidentiary trials, hearings on temporary restraining orders, and preliminary injunctions.
Source: United States Courts, "Explanation of the Judicial Caseload Profiles for United States District Courts," accessed September 25, 2018

United States District Court for the District of New Jersey caseload stats, 2010-2023
Year	Cases Filed	Cases Terminated	Cases Pending	Number of Judgeships	Vacant Judgeship Months	Average Total Filings per Judgeship	Trials Completed per Judgeship	Median time from filing to disposition, criminal	Median time from filing to disposition, civil	Three-year civil cases (#)	Three-year civil cases (%)
2010	8,220	8,380	7,007	17	18	484	11	13	7	308	5
2011	9,056	8,749	7,318	17	15	533	11	12	6	321	5
2012	9,522	8,982	8,172	17	13	560	9	12	6	337	5
2013	9,525	8,708	9,107	17	0	560	9	12	6	416	5
2014	9,861	9,281	9,708	17	10	580	8	11	8	510	6
2015	10,574	10,284	10,013	17	37	622	12	11	8	615	7
2016	11,341	9,584	11,722	17	48	667	8	16	8	660	6
2017	16,694	10,742	17,686	17	31	982	7	11	7	690	4
2018	20,184	13,399	24,972	17	44	1,187	7	8	5	1,555	7
2019	27,017	13,137	38,764	17	68	1,589	8	9	10	806	2
2020	23,453	10,721	51,514	17	72	1,380	3	9	10	6,849	14
2021	23,063	10,699	63,894	17	61	1,357	5	13	8	14,041	23
2022	9,998	9,906	63,988	17	17	588	7	13	10	27,140	44
2023	25,654	9,801	79,806	17	29.6	1,509	6	16	7	39,651	51
Average	15,297	10,170	28,834	17	33	900	8	12	8	6,707	13

History

The District of New Jersey was established by Congress on September 24, 1789, with one post to cover the entire state. On February 13, 1801, Congress divided the district into Eastern and Western districts, with one post each. The District was reunited into one district with one post on March 8, 1802, effective the following July 1. Over time, sixteen additional judicial posts were added to the court for a total of seventeen current posts.

Judicial posts

The following table highlights the development of judicial posts for the District of New Jersey:

Year	Statute	Total Seats
September 24, 1789	1 Stat. 73	1
February 13, 1801	2 Stat. 89	2 (1 for each District)
March 8, 1802	2 Stat. 132	1
March 3, 1905	33 Stat. 987	2
April 11, 1916	39 Stat. 48	3
September 14, 1922	42 Stat. 837	4 (1 temporary)
May 20, 1932	47 Stat. 161	4
March 24, 1940	54 Stat. 219	5 (1 temporary)
December 22, 1944	58 Stat. 887	5
August 3, 1949	63 Stat. 493	6
February 10, 1954	68 Stat. 8	7
May 19, 1961	75 Stat. 80	8
June 2, 1970	84 Stat. 294	10 (1 temporary)
1972	Expiration	9
October 20, 1978	92 Stat. 1629	11
July 10, 1984	98 Stat. 333	14
December 1, 1990	104 Stat. 5089	17

Noteworthy cases

For a searchable list of opinions, please see Opinions of the District of New Jersey.

• Federal judge issues temporary restraining order blocking New Jersey law allowing legalized sports betting (2014)

Click for summary→

The National Collegiate Athletic Association and the major leagues for professional football, basketball, baseball, and hockey sued the state of New Jersey to prevent it from authorizing legalized betting on sporting events. Plaintiffs alleged that the state's legalization of sports betting violated federal law. The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, passed by the U.S. Congress in 1992, required states to maintain prohibitions on sports betting. Judge Michael Shipp issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting the law from taking effect, as requested by the plaintiffs. In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the federal law unconstitutional, allowing states to legalize sports betting. Articles: Newsmax, "Judge Blocks New Jersey Sports Betting Law," October 24, 2014 NJ.com, "Judge halts N.J. sports betting from beginning at Monmouth Park on Sunday," October 28, 2014 ESPN, "Gambling blocked at Monmouth Park," November 18, 2014 USA Today, "Supreme Court strikes down ban on sports betting in victory for New Jersey," May 14, 2018

• Suit over death benefits for disabled veterans allowed to continue (2014)      Judge(s):Kevin McNulty (Hamilton, et al v. Prudential Insurance Co. of America, et al, 2:12-4196 (KM)(MAH))	Click for summary→
The families of William Hamilton and Carey Seymour filed suit, alleging that Prudential Insurance failed to tell former soldiers that their insurance policies would lapse after they left active duty. Both Hamilton and Seymour were considered disabled after their time of military deactivation, with insurance benefits ranging from $250,000 to $400,000 under the Servicemembers Group Life Insurance Act. Both men suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, and committed suicide after leaving active duty. Their families contended that, by virtue of their ongoing disabilities, their insurance coverage should have been extended for two additional years. Plaintiffs claimed equal protection violations, contending that the defendants denied some beneficiaries' claims while granting others. Plaintiffs also alleged fraud by omission as to claims of intentional withholding of vital information regarding their family members' insurance benefits. Prudential Insurance, a Newark-based company and the defendant in the case, said Hamilton died five years after the expiration of his policy and that it had sent three expiration notices to Seymour before his death. Judge Kevin McNulty ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, finding their claims "sufficient to sustain" the allegations made against the defendants.

• Federal Aviation Administration inspector bribery case (2011-2012)      Judge(s):Robert Kugler (USA v. Bishop, 1:11-cr-00742-RBK)	Click for summary→
On October 27, 2011, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) safety inspector, Harrington Bishop, pleaded guilty to federal bribery charges before Judge Robert Kugler. Bishop was charged with receiving illegal gratuities for taking pilots on test flights while he was off duty, which resulted in those pilots being officially licensed, certified, certificated, or otherwise by the FAA, even though the flights were not authorized. He was sentenced to one year and one day in prison. For more information, click here.

Noteworthy events

Federal Judicial Conference recommendation (2019)

In March 2019, the Federal Judicial Conference (FJC) recommended that four permanent judgeships be added to the district. Based on FJC data, the district handled 1,012 weighted filings per judgeship from September 2017 to September 2018. Weighted filings are a specific metric used by the federal judiciary that accounts for the different amounts of time judges require to resolve types of civil and criminal cases. The national average in that period for weighted filings per judgeship was 513.

The FJC is the policy-making body for the United States federal courts system. It was first organized as the Conference of Senior Circuit Judges in 1922. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States serves as chair of the conference. The members of the conference are the chief judge of each judicial circuit, the Chief Judge of the Court of International Trade, and a district judge from each regional judicial circuit.

Federal courthouse

There are four federal courthouses that serve the District of New Jersey.

The District of New Jersey is divided into three vicinages: Newark, Trenton, and Camden. In Newark, the court operates from two courthouses: the Frank R. Lautenberg Post Office and Courthouse and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Building and United States Courthouse, which houses the vicinage's clerk. In Trenton, the court operates from the Clarkson S. Fisher United States Courthouse. In Camden, the court operates from the Mitchell H. Cohen United States Courthouse and its annex.

About United States District Courts

The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. There are 94 such courts. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of both law and equity.

There is a United States bankruptcy court and a number of bankruptcy judges associated with each United States district court. Each federal judicial district has at least one courthouse, and most districts have more than one.

There is at least one judicial district for each state, and one each for Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. District courts in three insular areas—the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands—exercise the same jurisdiction as U.S. district courts. Despite their name, these courts are technically not District Courts of the United States. Judges on these territorial courts do not enjoy the protections of Article III of the Constitution, and serve terms of 10 years rather than for life.

There are 677 U.S. District Court judgeships.

The number of federal district judge positions is set by the U.S. Congress in Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Section 133, which authorizes a set number of judge positions, or judgeships, making changes and adjustments in these numbers from time to time.

In order to relieve the pressure of trying the hundreds of thousands of cases brought before the federal district courts each year, many trials are tried by juries, along with a presiding judge.

Appointments by president

The chart below shows the number of district court judges confirmed by the U.S. Senate through September 1 of the first year of presidents' second term in office. At this point in the term, President Obama had the most district court appointments with 19.

Judges by district

See also: Judicial vacancies in federal courts

The table below displays the number of judges in each district and indicates how many were appointed by presidents from each major political party. It also includes the number of vacancies in a district and how many pending nominations for that district are before the United States Senate. The table can be sorted by clicking the column headers above the line, and you can navigate through the pages by clicking the arrows at the top of the table. It is updated every Monday.

Judicial selection

The district courts are served by Article III federal judges who are appointed for life during "good behavior." They are usually first recommended by senators (or members of the House, occasionally). The President of the United States makes the appointments, which must then be confirmed by the U.S. Senate in accordance with Article III of the United States Constitution.

Step	A Candidacy Proceeds	A Candidacy Halts
1. Recommendation made by Congress Member to the President	President Nominates to Senate Judiciary Committee	President Declines Nomination
2. Senate Judiciary Committee interviews Candidate	Sends candidate to Senate for confirmation	Returns candidate to President, who may re-nominate to Committee
3. Senate votes on candidate confirmation	Candidate becomes federal judge	Candidate does not receive judgeship

Magistrate judges

The district courts are also served by magistrate judges. Congress created the judicial office of federal magistrate in 1968. In 1990, the position title was changed to magistrate judge. The chief judge of each district appoints one or more magistrate judges, who discharge many of the ancillary duties of district judges so judges can handle more trials. There are both full-time and part-time magistrate judge positions, and these positions are assigned to the district courts according to caseload criteria (subject to funding by Congress). A full-time magistrate judge serves a term of eight years; a part-time magistrate judge's term of office is four years.

See also

• United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
• United States District Court for the District of Delaware
• United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
• United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
• United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
• District Court of the Virgin Islands

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• United States District Court for the District of New Jersey Official Website
• United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey Official Website
• Opinions of the District of New Jersey