Visiting Jurist Emerita-in-Residence (New Jersey Supreme Court)
The
Honorable Deborah T. Poritz retired in 2006 as chief justice of the
Supreme Court of New Jersey after 10 years in the position. Among her
many accomplishments were the unification of the courts into a single
statewide system and increasing the diversity of the judiciary
workforce.
Justice Poritz is a graduate of the University of
Pennsylvania Law School. On graduation, she joined the office of the New
Jersey Attorney General as a deputy attorney general in the Division of
Law, Environmental Protection Section. She later was named deputy attorney general in charge of appeals and chief of the Banking,
Insurance and Public Securities Section, and subsequently served as assistant attorney general and director of the Division of Law. Chief
Justice Poritz was appointed chief counsel to Gov. Thomas H. Kean. When
he left office, she became a partner at the law firm of Jamieson, Moore,
Peskin & Spicer where she remained until her appointment as New
Jersey's first woman attorney general. On July 10, 1996, she took the
oath of office as the first woman chief justice of the Supreme Court of
New Jersey.
Chief Justice Poritz was appointed Visiting Jurist
Emerita-in-Residence at Rutgers School of Law-Newark and Rutgers School
of Law-Camden. Since the Fall 2010 semester at Rutgers-Newark,
she has taught courses on the New Jersey Supreme Court in alternating
semesters at the two schools. She also delivers special lectures,
consults with faculty on areas of common scholarship, and plans to complete a book
on the importance of state courts.
|
