Shirley Tolentino (1943–2010) was the first black woman to serve on the

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 ...

and was the first black woman appointed to the Jersey City Municipal Court and to serve as its presiding judge. She served as president of National Association of Women Judges.

Background

Born and raised in Jersey City, New Jersey, Tolentino graduated

Henry Snyder High School Academy of the Arts at Henry Snyder High School is a four-year performing arts public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades, located in the Greenville section of Jersey City, New Jersey, United States, operating as part o ...

. She earned a bachelor's degree in Latin from the

College of St. Elizabeth Saint Elizabeth University (SEU) (formerly College of Saint Elizabeth) is a private Catholic, coeducational, four-year, liberal arts university in Morris Township, New Jersey. Portions of the campus are also in Florham Park. SEU has 25 underg ...

(CSE) in 1965. She taught high school Latin and English before earning her J.D. degree from

Seton Hall University School of Law Seton Hall University School of Law is the law school of Seton Hall University, and is located in downtown Newark, New Jersey. Seton Hall Law is the only private law school in New Jersey, and, according to the ''U.S. News & World Report'' rankin ...

in 1971. She received a master of laws degree in criminal justice from

New York University School of Law New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in Ne ...

in 1980.

Career

Shirley Tolentino was the first black woman to serve on the Superior Court and was the first black woman appointed to the Jersey City Municipal Court and to serve as its presiding judge. Tolentino worked as a legal editor for Prentice-Hall from 1971 to 1972 and as an adjudicator for the

Veterans Administration The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers a ...

from 1972 to 1973. She as a deputy attorney general from 1973 until 1976. In 1976, then- Mayor of Jersey City

Paul T. Jordan Paul T. Jordan (born c. 1941) is an American physician and Democratic Party politician who served as the 37th Mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey. He succeeded interim mayor Charles K. Krieger. Being 30 years old at the time of his election, Jorda ...

appointed Tolentino as the first

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 ...

woman to serve as a full-time municipal court judge in New Jersey. She was elevated to presiding judge in 1981.

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 ...

Thomas Kean Thomas Howard Kean ( ; born April 21, 1935) is an American businessman, academic administrator and politician. A member of the Republican Party, Kean served as the 48th governor of New Jersey from 1982 to 1990. Following his tenure as governor, ...

nominated Tolentino to the Superior Court in January 1984. She sat in the civil, criminal and family divisions during a 26-year period. Judge Tolentino served on the Supreme Court Task Force on Minorities and was a member of the National Association of Women Judges, serving as president in 1996-97

Awards and honors

Tolentino received an honorary degree from CSE in 1980. In 1981, she received the Whitney Young Award from the Hudson County Urban League. The intersection where the Hudson County Courthouse is situated was named in her honor in March 2012. In 2014, a new postal facility at the HUB on MLK Drive in Jersey was designated the Shirley A. Tolentino Post Office Building in her honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tolentino, Shirley 1943 births 2010 deaths 20th-century African-American women 20th-century American women judges 21st-century African-American women Henry Snyder High School alumni New Jersey state court judges New York University School of Law alumni Lawyers from Jersey City, New Jersey Seton Hall University School of Law alumni Superior court judges in the United States Women in New Jersey politics

Background

Career

Awards and honors

See also

References