Jaynee LaVecchia (born October 9, 1954) is a former associate justice of the
Supreme Court of New Jersey
The Supreme Court of New Jersey is the supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, the Supreme Court of New Jersey is the final judicial authority on all cases in the state court system, including cases cha ...
. She was nominated by Governor
Christine Todd Whitman
Christine Temple Whitman (; born September 26, 1946) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001 and as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under President George W. Bush ...
to serve on the court on January 6, 2000 and was confirmed by the
New Jersey Senate
The New Jersey Senate is the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232,225 (2020 figure ...
on January 10, 2000. In 2007, she was reappointed with tenure by Governor
Jon Corzine
Jon Stevens Corzine ( ; born January 1, 1947) is an American financial executive and retired politician who served as a United States Senator from New Jersey from 2001 to 2006, and the 54th governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. Corzine ran f ...
. Although she could have served until reaching the mandatory retirement age in 2024, LaVecchia retired from the Court effective December 31, 2021.
Biography
Jaynee LaVecchia was born in
Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Douglass College and graduated in 1979 from Rutgers School of Law – Newark. She has been a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association since 1980. She was in private practice and worked as Director of the Division of Law within the Department of Law and Public Safety since August 1, 1984. As director, she was responsible for the legal work of all lawyers assigned to the civil side of the New Jersey Attorney ’s Office.
LaVecchia served in the Office of Counsel to Republican governor Thomas Kean from 1986 to 1989, first as an Assistant Counsel and then as Deputy Chief Counsel. She was Director and Chief Administrative Law Judge for the Office of Administrative Law from 1989 through July 1994. In 1996, she was elected a Fellow of the American Bar Association. On August 24, 1998, LaVecchia became commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance.
LaVecchia was nominated by Governor
Christine Todd Whitman
Christine Temple Whitman (; born September 26, 1946) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001 and as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under President George W. Bush ...
to serve on the Supreme Court on December 24, 1999. She was confirmed by the Senate on January 10, 2000 and sworn in for a term to begin February 1, 2000. She replaced Marie L. Garibaldi. Governor Jon Corzine reappointed her to the New Jersey Supreme Court in 2006. She has chaired or served on various Supreme Court Committees, subcommittees, and other Court-assigned projects. She has been granted tenure until October 9, 2024.
In August 2020, LaVecchia wrote for the dissenters when a narrow majority found that the constitutional right against
self-incrimination
In criminal law, self-incrimination is the act of making a statement that exposes oneself to an accusation of criminal liability or prosecution. Self-incrimination can occur either directly or indirectly: directly, by means of interrogation where ...
did not prevent a police officer from being compelled to provide the passcodes to iPhones he was accused of using to provide tip-offs to a drug trafficker.