Robert Wilentz
Robert Wilentz | |
---|---|
Chief Justice of the Deborah T. Poritz | |
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly from the 7th district | |
In office January 11, 1966 – January 13, 1970 | |
Preceded by | J. Edward Crabiel |
Succeeded by | Thomas J. Deverin |
Personal details | |
Born | Robert Nathan Wilentz February 17, 1927 Perth Amboy, New Jersey, United States |
Died | July 23, 1996 New York, New York, United States | (aged 69)
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse |
Jacqueline Malino
(m. 1949; died 1989) |
Children | 3, including Amy |
Parent |
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Education | |
Occupation |
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Robert Nathan Wilentz (February 17, 1927 – July 23, 1996) was
Early life
Robert Wilentz was born on February 17, 1927, in
Wilentz graduated from Perth Amboy High School, where he was valedictorian.[1] He first enrolled at Princeton University, but left school to serve in the United States Navy. After completing two years of service, he graduated from Harvard University.[1]
After Harvard, Wilentz received his law degree from Columbia Law School, where he was named a Harlan Fiske Scholar and won the Robert Noxon Toppan Prize in Constitutional Law.[1]
State politics
He was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly in 1965 and 1967 but chose not to seek a third term in 1969.[1]
He considered a campaign for Governor of New Jersey in the 1973 election, but ultimately decided against it.[1]
Chief Justice of New Jersey
Wilentz was appointed Chief Justice by Democratic Governor Brendan Byrne in 1979.
Apart from his jurisprudence, Wilentz openly sought to use the structural role of Chief Justice to expand access to New Jersey courts. In 1982, he convened a commission to study the treatment of women in the New Jersey court system, both as lawyers and parties. He instructed judges to record observations of bias and take courses on bias.[1] In that same year, he personally ordered a reorganization of the state's trial court system, reducing the number of Superior Court districts from 15 to 12 and redrawing their boundaries.[1]
In 1986, was reappointed as chief justice in 1986 by Republican Governor Thomas Kean, but there was a confirmation battle in the New Jersey Senate. After a contentious debate that involved charges of judicial activism and criticism of Wilentz's residence in Manhattan, where his wife was undergoing treatment for cancer, the Chief Justice was confirmed for a second term by a vote of 21 to 19. Had he been rejected, his would have been the first such denial under New Jersey's 1947 Constitution.[1]
Mount Laurel II
Perhaps the most notable
The Mount Laurel II holding was eventually enforced by a legislative compromise, though supporters of the Court's decision[who?] thought the compromise was weak.[1]
State v. Kelly
Wilentz's opinion in
Other notable opinions
- In re Baby M (1988), was the first court ruling on the validity of surrogacy.[citation needed] The biological mother in this case sought to retain custody of her biological child, in violation of a surrogacy contract. Writing for a unanimous Court, Wilentz invalidated the surrogacy contract as void for reasons public policy. In a dictum, the Court held that a common "best interests" analysis should apply to determine the child's eventual home.
Personal life
Wilentz married Jacqueline Malino (1928 – March 29, 1989) in 1949 and they had three children, James Robert, Amy and Thomas.[7]
Retirement and death
A resident of Manhattan and Deal, New Jersey, Wilentz retired from the bench on July 1, 1996, due to advanced cancer. He died three weeks later on July 23, 1996. He would have reached the mandatory retirement age of 70 in February 1997.[1]
See also
Notes
- ^ In a footnote, Wilentz added that 20 percent affordable housing was a "reasonable minimum" for a municipality.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Stout, David. "Robert Wilentz, 69, New Jersey Chief Justice, Dies; Court Aided Women and the Poor", The New York Times, July 24, 1996. Accessed December 17, 2022. "Justice Wilentz, who also had a home in Deal, N.J., announced on June 13 that he had cancer. He retired on July 1 because he could no longer carry out his duties."
- ^ The Betrayal of Mount Laurel
- ^ Full text here "STATE of New Jersey, Plaintiff-Respondent v. Gladys KELLY, Defendant-Appellant", West Virginia State Web Portal
- ^ "Battered-Person Syndrome - Evidentiary Use in Criminal Trials: A Resource for Researchers", Georgia State University College of Law, 2002
- ^ "Effective Assistance Of Counsel For Battered Women Defendants: A Normative Construct", Sarah M. Buel, Harvard Law School
- ^ "The Validity and Use of Evidence Concerning Battering and Its Effects in Criminal Trials", National Criminal Justice Reference Service, US Department of Justice
- ^ "'Restless Seeker for Justice': Robert Nathan Wilentz". The New York Times, January 22, 1983. Accessed March 21, 2008.