The New Jersey State Bar Association recognized the service of three retired New Jersey Supreme Court jurists at its Annual Meeting and Convention. Justices Jaynee LaVecchia, Faustino J. Fernandez-Vina and Walter F. Timpone leave behind legacies of distinguished public service.
LaVecchia stands as one of the most consequential justices in modern state history, sitting longer than any woman on the state Supreme Court. Her tenure was marked by several impactful decisions, including State v. Davila, where she wrote the unanimous opinion protecting against warrantless protective sweeps of a person’s residence.
The justice also authored the opinion for the 2011 Abbott XXI decision, a case that supported access to education for New Jersey school children and ordered the state to return nearly $500 million in educational funding to primarily urban school districts.
She was nominated by Gov. Christine Todd Whitman to serve on the state Supreme Court for a term beginning February 2000.
Fernandez-Vina, a native of Cuba, served on the state Supreme Court following his nomination by Gov. Chris Christie in November 2013. He authored a wide swath of opinions that provided practical guidance to members of the bar on issues such as affidavit of merit requirements, application of the controversy doctrine, factors underlying alimony awards and proper suppression of criminal evidence.
He established himself as a down-to-earth, generous and consummate jurist with an intense work ethic and penetrating mind.
Timpone retired in August 2020.
Nominated by Gov. Chris Christie in May 2016, Timpone authored opinions on subjects that ranged from municipal land use to criminal defense law, including several proactive measures that ensured the rights of New Jersey residents. In the landmark case of State v. Cassidy, Timpone upheld a defendant’s right to seek a re-examination of their convictions stemming from a flawed DWI-testing process.