Fabiana Pierre-Louis
Associate Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court
Assumed office
September 1, 2020
Appointed byPhil Murphy
Preceded byWalter F. Timpone
Personal details
Born (1980-09-09) September 9, 1980 (age 43)[1]
New York City, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseRobert Reeves
Children2
EducationRutgers University (BA, JD)

Fabiana Pierre-Louis (born September 9, 1980) is an American attorney and jurist serving as an associate justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court. She is the first Black woman to serve on the court. Pierre-Louis had previously worked as attorney-in-charge of the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey's Trenton and Camden branches, and as a partner at the law firm of Montgomery McCracken.

Early life and education

Pierre-Louis was born in New York City and spent her early childhood in Brooklyn before moving to Irvington, New Jersey.[2][3][4] She is the daughter of Haitian American immigrants[4][5] and speaks Haitian Creole fluently.[6]

Pierre-Louis graduated from Union Catholic Regional High School in 1998.[7] She earned a bachelor's degree from Rutgers University and a Juris Doctor from Rutgers Law School.[4]

Career

Pierre-Louis served as a law clerk for New Jersey Supreme Court Justice John E. Wallace Jr. Pierre-Louis worked for almost ten years as an assistant United States attorney in the office of United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, and served as the attorney-in-charge of the U.S. Attorney's Trenton and Camden branches. After leaving that position she became a partner at the law firm of Montgomery McCracken in its Cherry Hill office.[8][6]

On June 5, 2020, Governor Phil Murphy announced his intention to nominate Pierre-Louis to the New Jersey Supreme Court[4][8] to replace Walter F. Timpone, who was approaching the state's mandatory retirement age for judges.[9] On August 24, 2020, the New Jersey Senate's Judiciary Committee voted 11–0 to advance her nomination to the full Senate,[10][11] and on August 27, 2020, the Senate voted 39–0 to confirm her to the Court.[12][13][14]

Pierre-Louis was sworn in on September 1, 2020, one day after Justice Timpone stepped down.[9] She is the first Black woman to serve on the court.[15]

In 2023, The White House considered nominating Pierre-Louis for a vacancy on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, however she withdrew her name from consideration.[16]

Personal life

Pierre-Louis and her husband, Robert Reeves, have two sons.[5][17] As of 2020, the family resided in Mount Laurel, New Jersey.[18][17]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Justices Biographies". njcourts.gov. Retrieved 2020-09-20.
  2. ^ Balcerzak, Ashley. "Fabiana Pierre-Louis one step closer to being first Black woman to serve on NJ Supreme Court". North Jersey Media Group. Retrieved 2020-09-28.
  3. ^ Nelson, Blake (August 24, 2020). "N.J. Senate committee unanimously approves first Black woman to state Supreme Court". nj.com for NJ Advance Media. Archived from the original on August 25, 2020. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d NJ.com, Brent Johnson (June 5, 2020). "Murphy to nominate attorney to become first black woman to N.J. Supreme Court". nj. Archived from the original on 2020-06-05. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
  5. ^ a b Racioppi, Dustin (June 5, 2020). "Murphy nominates Fabiana Pierre-Louis to NJ Supreme Court in historic choice". North Jersey. Archived from the original on July 17, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  6. ^ a b "Fabiana Pierre-Louis". Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads LLP. Archived from the original on 2020-06-05. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
  7. ^ Staff. "Union Catholic Graduate Fabiana Pierre-Louis Nominated To Become First Black Woman To Serve on NJ Supreme Court" Archived 2020-06-05 at the Wayback Machine, TAP into Elizabeth, June 5, 2020. Accessed June 5, 2020. "Fabiana Pierre-Louis, a member of Union Catholic’s Class of 1998, made history on Friday when N.J. Governor Phil Murphy said he will nominate her to become New Jersey’s first black woman to serve on the New Jersey Supreme Court."
  8. ^ a b "Gov. Phil Murphy Announces Intent To Nominate Fabiana Pierre-Louis To Serve On New Jersey Supreme Court". 2020-06-05. Archived from the original on 2020-06-05. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
  9. ^ a b Johnson, Brent (September 1, 2020). "N.J. now has 1st Black woman on state Supreme Court. Fabiana Pierre-Louis was just sworn in". nj. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  10. ^ Tully, Tracey (2020-08-24). "Daughter of Immigrants to Be 1st Black Woman on N.J. Supreme Court". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2020-08-25. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
  11. ^ NJ.com, Blake Nelson | NJ Advance Media for (2020-08-24). "N.J. Senate committee unanimously approves first Black woman to state Supreme Court". nj. Archived from the original on 2020-08-25. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
  12. ^ "Office of the Governor | Statement from Governor Murphy on Confirmation of Fabiana Pierre-Louis to the New Jersey Supreme Court". nj.gov. Archived from the original on 2020-08-27. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
  13. ^ August 27, Suzette Parmley |; PM, 2020 at 02:12. "Fabiana Pierre-Louis Confirmed to NJ Supreme Court". New Jersey Law Journal. Archived from the original on 2020-08-27. Retrieved 2020-08-27.((cite web)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ NJ.com, Brent Johnson | NJ Advance Media for (2020-08-27). "N.J. will soon get 1st Black woman on the state Supreme Court. Senate just confirmed her". nj. Archived from the original on 2020-08-27. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
  15. ^ Bureau, Dustin Racioppi, Trenton. "Murphy nominates Fabiana Pierre-Louis to NJ Supreme Court in historic choice". New Jersey Herald. Archived from the original on 2020-06-05. Retrieved 2020-06-05.((cite web)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ "Adeel Mangi is top candidate". November 6, 2023.
  17. ^ a b Parmley, Suzette (June 5, 2020). "Former Federal Prosecutor, Montgomery McCracken Partner Fabiana Pierre-Louis Nominated to Supreme Court". New Jersey Law Journal. Archived from the original on June 5, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  18. ^ "Gov. Murphy nominates Fabiana Pierre-Louis to serve on the New Jersey Supreme Court". WRNJ Radio. 2020-06-05. Archived from the original on 2020-06-05. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
Legal offices Preceded byWalter F. Timpone Associate Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court 2020–present Incumbent
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