By John Burton
HOLMDEL – The name of a Monmouth County Superior Court judge is one of two being proposed by Gov. Chris Christie to serve on the state’s highest court.
Christie this week forwarded the name of Monmouth County Superior Court Judge David Bauman as one of the two nominees to serve on the state Supreme Court. The governor’s other nominee, Robert Hanna, is president of the state’s Board of Public Utilities (BPU).
Bauman, 56, is a Holmdel resident who has been on the Superior Court bench in Freehold since July 2008. In September 2009 he was named presiding judge of the court’s civil division.
Bauman previously was in private practice with the Bressler, Amery and Ross law firm in Florham Park, where he was a partner for 10 years, concentrating on civil and commercial litigation and criminal law.
A U.S. Marine who served for four years on active duty, Bauman worked as a defense counsel, prosecutor and special counsel with the U.S. Naval Investigative Service. He also served in the Marine Reserves for 12 years.
Bauman earned his law degree from Boston College in 1986.
A Republican, Bauman was nominated to the bench by Democratic Gov. Jon S. Corzine and was unanimously approved by the state Senate’s Judiciary Committee and the whole Senate by a 37-0 vote, according to information provided by the governor’s office.
“I do know him and I admire him both personally and professionally and he’s done an excellent job here in Monmouth County,” said former state Supreme Court Chief Justice James Zazzali, a Rumson resident.
Hanna, 54, of Madison has 30 years experience as a lawyer, including working as an assistant attorney general with the state’s Department of Law and Public Safety. He was director of the Division of Law for two years and had been with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey for 16 years, four as chief of securities and health fraud unit.
Hanna, who received his law degree from Fordham University in 1984, has been BPU president since 2011.
The appointments are contingent on Senate approval. The seven-member Supreme Court in not permitted by the state constitution to have more than four members of one political party at any given time.
