Sheila Venable to Be First Black Judge to Lead Essex Vicinage | New Jersey Law Journal – Law.com

Judge Sheila Venable will lead the Essex Vicinage, effective Feb. 1, 2021. (Courtesy photo: NJ Judiciary)

As law firms nationally are reexamining their makeup and hiring policies to have staffs that are more inclusive and diverse, the New Jersey judiciary appears to be upping its own efforts with the appointment of the first Black to lead the state’s largest vicinage.

Chief Justice Stuart Rabner announced on Wednesday that Superior Court Judge Sheila A. Venable, currently sitting in Hudson County, is to become the new assignment judge for the Essex Vicinage, effective Feb. 1, 2021, becoming the first Black judge to hold the post. She will succeed longtime Judge Sallyanne Floria.

The promotion comes some 13 years after Rabner appointed Venable as chief judge of the Jersey City Municipal Court in the wake of a ticket-fixing scandal that involved four judges on that court. She is currently the drug court judge in the Hudson Vicinage.

Floria is retiring after 22 years on the bench and more than five years as assignment judge of what is New Jersey’s largest of 15 vicinages, with more than 800 employees.

“I would like to thank Chief Justice Rabner for his confidence in my ability to serve as the assignment judge in Essex County,” Venable said in the Wednesday release from the judiciary announcing her appointment.

“Judge Floria,” Venable added, “has set a strong example to follow. I am humbled and honored to have been chosen and I feel privileged to be a part of this independent judiciary.”

In promoting Venable, Rabner said in the same release, “Judge Venable’s distinguished career has been marked by excellence, strong leadership, and empathy—qualities that will serve the State’s largest vicinage and the public well.”

“Essex County, and the Judiciary as a whole, are fortunate to have such a gifted jurist continue to maintain the highest standards Judge Floria exemplified,” Rabner said.

Venable, 64, served as the presiding criminal judge in Hudson from 2008 to 2018 before becoming its drug court judge the last two years. She was first appointed to the bench on Jan. 20, 2005, by then-Gov. Richard J. Codey, a Democrat. She served first in the Family Part and then moved to the Criminal Part later that year.

Venable was reappointed by Republican Gov. Chris Christie and received tenure in December 2011.

Prior to her judicial career, Venable served from 1986 to 1988 as designated counsel on behalf of the state Public Defender’s Office at the Department of Public Advocate. She also served as public defender for Jersey City during the same two-year period.

Venable later went on to become assistant prosecutor in Jersey City, and in 1991 became Jersey City’s chief municipal prosecutor. She served as a municipal court judge in Jersey City from 1993 to 2005.

In fall 2007, Rabner assigned Venable to serve as chief judge of the Jersey City Municipal Court, in the wake of a ticket-fixing scandal involving four sitting judges, including the former chief judge, Wanda Molina. Three of the judges were charged with second-degree official misconduct: Molina, Pauline Sica, and Victor Sison; and Judge Irwin Rosen was charged with third-degree official misconduct.

Venable took over as chief judge after Molina resigned after an investigation by the state Division of Criminal Justice’s Corruption Bureau revealed the four had dismissed or reduced charges for parking tickets on behalf of friends and family, among other charges.

Venable earned her J.D. from the University of Santa Clara and her bachelor’s degree in political science, with an emphasis in public administration, at California State University Northridge.

With her appointment, Venable may serve until she reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70 for state judges in 2026.