New Jersey Supreme Court

The New Jersey Supreme Court is the highest court in New Jersey. Its justices are chosen by gubernatorial appointment. This page lists every justice to serve on the court, current and former, with when they joined the bench and whom they succeeded.

Current bench verified against the court’s official roster, 2026-07-02.

Current justices

• SRChief JusticeStuart Rabner2007
• AP Anne M. Patterson2011
• FP Fabiana Pierre-Louis2020
• RA Rachel W. Apter2022
• DF Douglas M. Fasciale2022
• MN Michael Noriega2023
• JH John J. Hoffman2024

Former justices

Justice	Years
HHHelen E. Hoens	2006–2013
RRRoberto A. Rivera-Soto	2004–2011
JWJohn E. Wallace Jr.	2003–2010
BABarry T. Albin	2002
JLJaynee LaVecchia	2000
JZJames Ronald Zazzali	2000–2007
VLVirginia Long	1999–2012
PVPeter Verniero	1999–2004
DPDeborah Tobias Poritz	1996–2006
JCJames H. Coleman	1994–2003
GSGary S. Stein	1985–2002
MGMarie Louise Garibaldi	1982–2000
DODaniel Joseph O'Hern	1981–2000
SPStewart Glasson Pollock	1979–1999
RWRobert Nathan Wilentz	1979–1996
AHAlan B. Handler	1977–1999
SSSydney Schreiber	1975–1984
RCRobert L. Clifford	1973–1994
PGPierre P. Garven	1973–1973
Richard Joseph Hughes	1973–1979
MPMorris Pashman	1973–1982
MSMark A. Sullivan	1973–1981
WMWorrall Fredrick Mountain	1971–1979
VHVincent S. Haneman	1960–1971
FHFrederick Wilson Hall	1959–1975
CSC. Thomas Schetting	1959–1972
CSC Thomas Schettino	1959–1972
JFJohn J. Francis	1957–1972
HPHaydn Proctor	1957–1973
JWJoseph Weintraub	1956–1973
WBWilliam Joseph Brennan Jr.	1951–1956
HAHenry Elijah Ackerson Jr.	1948–1952
NJNathan L. Jacobs	1948–1975
AOA Dayton Oliphant	1948–1957
AVArthur T. Vanderbilt	1948–1957
ABAlbert E. Burling	1947–1960
WWWilliam A. Wachenfeld	1946–1959
HHHarry Heher	1932–1959
JBJoseph Lamb Bodine	1929–1948
CCClarence E. Case	1929–1952

How a justice reaches this court. Justices of the New Jersey Supreme Court are appointed by the governor to 7-year terms. The governor nominates with Senate consent for an initial seven-year term; if reappointed, a justice gains tenure to age 70. Selection methods vary by jurisdiction and have changed over time; this page reflects the court’s current method (source: National Center for State Courts). Open any justice to see their tenure and whom they succeeded.

Source: Current roster: New Jersey Courts (njcourts.gov) — Supreme Court of New Jersey and CourtListener / Free Law Project (bulk data); selection method from the National Center for State Courts. Data as of 2026-07-02 (official roster); historical bench 2026-03-31 (CourtListener bulk snapshot). Verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).