First Youngest Black Woman Appointed New Jersey Supreme Judge -

History has been made as Fabiana Pierre-Louis is next in line to become the first Black woman on the New Jersey Supreme Court after the Senate unanimously affirmed her nomination Thursday.

Praised as a sharp lawyer with a rich background in public and private practice, the 39-year-old black woman will also be the youngest justice to preside over the state’s highest court.

Pierre-Louis to be first youngest black woman on the sit will likely accept her position on the bench in time to hear the Supreme Court’s opening cases in its next term starting in early September. The justice whom she will replace, Walter Timpone, reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70 in November but has agreed to leave early, said Sen. Nicholas Scutari, chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

Pierre-Louis was confirmed by a vote of 39-0, though the lone absent senator, Nia Gill, relayed her support for the new associate justice. Many of the lawmakers noted the history being made ahead of the vote in the Senate chamber — which preceded a celebration of the centennial of women’s right to vote — but they also went to lengths to cast her race and gender as footnotes.

“Today is a historic day, so there’s no way to mince words about that. But what makes it even more special is she is uniquely well-qualified for this opportunity,” said Sen. Troy Singleton, D-Burlington. “Not because of the color of her skin but because, as Martin Luther King said, the content of her character, and her great accuracy.”

Sen. Gerald Cardinale, R-Bergen, said that as a nominee of Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, Pierre-Louis is unlikely to vote in agreement with him on many cases. But he is confident she is going “to make those decisions honestly, and not because of an allegiance to a political philosophy.”

Cardinale, who during questioning of Pierre-Luis during her confirmation hearing asked whether she was a communist, said he tries to find flaws in judicial candidates and in this nominee, “I couldn’t find any.”

Pierre-Louis, who attended the vote with her husband and two sons, declined to comment.

Born in New York City to Haitian immigrants and raised in Brooklyn and Irvington, Pierre-Louis as a black woman, graduated from Rutgers University and earned her law degree at Rutgers University Law School. After law school she clerked for associate Justice John Wallace, the last African – American to serve on the court and whose who’s seat she’ll fill (Timpone replaced Wallace).

She spent nine years as a prosecutor in the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, where she was where was the first woman of color to become attorney in charge of its Camden office. In that role, she focused on public corruption, child exploitation, narcotics and fraud, and was responsible for supervising criminal matters handled by that office.

Prior to that, Pierre-Louis was also the first woman of color to hold the same position in the U.S. Attorney’s Trenton office. She also worked in the Newark office in the General Crimes Unit and the Organized Crime and Gang Unit.

Until her nomination, Pierre-Louis was a partner in the Cherry Hill firm Montgomery McCracken in its white collar and government investigations group, focusing on complex commercial litigation, white collar crime, and government investigations.

With that resume, Pierre-Louis “knows both sides of the law,” said Sen. Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen. Sen. Richard Codey, D-Essex, predicted she’ll one day serve as the court’s chief justice.

At such a young age, she could prove to have a consequential role in decisions on issues such as education, housing and policing for the next three decades. She will also shift the gender makeup of the court from five men and two women to four men and three women.

Murphy said in a statement he’s “incredibly proud” she was confirmed and he is “honored to have put her name forward, and to see someone with a different set of life experiences and perspectives on our Supreme Court, a judicial body where New Jerseyans from all walks of life turn for justice.”

Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, said Thursday’s vote should not be a one-off celebration for diversity on the court.

“There should never be a reason why there’s one African American, one Latino, one Asian. We’re a diverse state, the most diverse in the nation,” he said. “This young woman is one of the most impressive people I’ve ever met in my life.”