Today, Governor Murphy announced his nomination of Michael Noriega to the Supreme Court. He would fill the seat that was vacated when Justice Albin reached the mandatory retirement age of 70. That seat has been temporarily occupied by Judge Sabatino.

The son of immigrants from Peru, Mr. Noriega is a “Jersey guy” through and through. He is a product of St. Peter’s Prep, Rutgers University, and Seton Hall School of Law. After serving as a Public Defender in Essex County for six years, he operated his own law firm, Noriega & Associates, with an emphasis on immigration and criminal law. Mr. Noriega then joined the law firm headed by state SenatorJon Bramnick (D-Union), where he has handled personal injury and immigration matters. He also has for eight years served as an adjunct professor at Seton Hall Law School. He is 45 years old.

If confirmed by the Senate, Mr. Noriega would become the 47th Justice to sit on the Supreme Court of New Jersey, and the third Latin member of the bench (Justices Rivera-Soto and Fernandez-Vina are the others). His confirmation would continue the current 4-3 Democratic majority on the Supreme Court.

This is the fourth seat on the Court that Governor Murphy has had the opportunity to fill. His previous appointments were Justices Pierre-Louis, Wainer Apter, and Fasciale. Governor Murphy should get to fill one more seat as well, as Justice Solomon reaches mandatory retirement in 2024.