John E. Wallace Jr. (born 1942) is a former

Associate Justice Associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some sta ...

of the

New Jersey Supreme Court The Supreme Court of New Jersey is the 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 challenging t ...

Early life and education

Wallace was born on March 13, 1942 in

Pitman, New Jersey Pitman is a borough in Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 8,780, a drop of 231 from the 2010 census count of 9,011,University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 m ...

in 1964, where he was initiated as a brother of the

Alpha Epsilon Pi Alpha Epsilon Pi (), commonly known as AEPi, is a college fraternity founded at New York University in 1913 by Charles C. Moskowitz and ten other men. The fraternity has more than 150 active chapters across the United States, Canada, United Kingdo ...

fraternity, and received his

J.D. JD or jd may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''JD'' (film), a 2016 Bollywood film * J.D. (''Scrubs''), nickname of Dr. John Dorian, fictional protagonist of the comedy-drama ''Scrubs'' * JD Fenix, a character from the ''Gears of War'' vi ...

from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 1967. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

from 1968 and reached the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

before leaving the army in 1970.

Career

Wallace was a member of many bars, including the

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east of t ...

and

Camden Camden may refer to: People * Camden (surname), a surname of English origin * Camden Joy (born 1964), American writer * Camden Toy (born 1957), American actor Places Australia * Camden, New South Wales * Camden, Rosehill, a heritage res ...

County Bar Associations, the New Jersey State Bar Association, the Garden State Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and the National Bar Association. He has also actively served on the

Task Force for Minority Concerns, the New Jersey Ethics Commission, the Judiciary Advisory committee on Americans with Disabilities Act, the supreme Court Special Committee on Matrimonial Litigation, and the Appellate Division Rules Committee. He chaired the Supreme Court Ad Hoc Committee on Admissions.Justice John E. Wallace Jr. profile
, judiciary.state.nj.us; accessed August 1, 2014. Wallace was a partner in the law firm of Atkinson, Myers, Archie & Wallace. He also served in that time period as the Municipal Judge for Washington Township. When he was nominated, Wallace's career was as a

New Jersey Superior Court The Superior Court is the state court in the U.S. state of New Jersey, with statewide trial and appellate jurisdiction. The New Jersey Constitution of 1947 establishes the power of the New Jersey courts.Jeffrey S. Mandel, New Jersey Appellate Pra ...

Judge (Appellate Division), a position which he held since 1984. Wallace was nominated by

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official re ...

James E. McGreevey on April 12, 2003, to serve as a justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court. He was confirmed by the

New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate was established as 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, ...

on May 19, 2003. He was sworn in as an associate justice by the Chief Justice,

Deborah T. Poritz Deborah Tobias Poritz (born October 26, 1936) is an American jurist. She was the Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1996 to 2006, and was the Attorney General of New Jersey from 1994 to 1996, in both cases becoming the first woman ...

, in a private ceremony held on May 20, 2003. According to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', Wallace was "a sound jurist and political moderate who was the court’s only

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

.""The Politicization of a Respected Court"
''

'', December 16, 2010; accessed May 19, 2014. On May 3, 2010, Governor

Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, lobbyist, and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. Christie, who was born in ...

declined to re-nominate Justice Wallace, whose term expired on May 20, 2010. He is the first Justice of the Supreme Court to be denied tenure in more than a half-century since the adoption of the 1947 State Constitution. Judge Wallace holds several honors from certain legal organizations. These include the Orient of New Jersey Dedicated Service Award from the Valley of Camden (awarded in 2000), the Washington Township Board of Education Appreciation Award (awarded in 2000), Association of Black Women Lawyers of New Jersey (awarded in 2001), and the Van J. Clinton award from the Garden State Bar Association (awarded in 2002).

Personal life

Justice Wallace lives in Sewell in

Washington Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey Washington Township is a township in Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 48,677, an increase of 118 from the 2010 census count of 48,559, which in turn reflected an in ...

with his wife Barbara (who has served several terms as the mayor of Washington Township, NJ); the couple has five children.Ruderman, Wendy
"Mensch on the bench Public Ceremony John E. Wallace Jr. New justice is respected for decisions, demeanor The state's newest justice wins praise as 'a fine and principled jurist.'"
''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Penns ...

'', June 3, 2003. Accessed July 6, 2016. "In legal circles and in his hometown of Washington Township, where he coaches Little League, Wallace is known for his gentlemanly demeanor. Those who know him say he is fair and open-minded both on the ballfield and on the bench."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallace, John E. Jr. 1942 births Living people University of Delaware alumni Harvard Law School alumni New Jersey lawyers Justices of the Supreme Court of New Jersey People from Pitman, New Jersey People from Washington Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey New Jersey Democrats Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football players African-American judges 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people