If Governor Phil Murphy’s choice of Fabiana Pierre-Louis to the New Jersey Supreme Court is confirmed, it would remove the Garden State as one of 33 states in the country to not have an African American justice on its high court.
Pierre-Louis is 39-years old. She was raised in Irvington by Haitian immigrants. She would replace Justice Walter Timpone who is required by law to retire because he is turning 70 in November. Timpone has sat on the bench since 2016.
John Wallace, the last African American justice to sit on the New Jersey Supreme Court, once had Pierre-Louis as a clerk. While some may think Governor Murphy’s choice is a direct response to the recent turmoil in our nation following the death of George Floyd, that is not accurate. The process to nominate Pierre-Louis as an associate justice began months ago. State Senator Nicholas Sacco (D – District 32), who also serves as North Bergen Mayor, stated on Wednesday, “I applaud the nomination of Fabiana Pierre-Louis as an Associate Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court. Representing North Bergen and Hudson County, we pride ourselves on diversity and inclusion and believe our residents should be able to look at the ‘high court’ and recognize someone who has walked in their shoes. Reviewing Ms. Pierre-Louis’s background, I believe she is someone that all communities can view as a role model and is representative of what our state and country are about. I look forward to sitting with Ms. Pierre-Louis in the days ahead as this nomination moves forward.”
Pierre-Louis is currently a partner at Montgomery, McCracken, Walker & Rhoads. She graduated from Rutgers Law School – Camden.