Supreme Court

Justice Jaynee LaVecchia

Justice LaVecchia was nominated by Governor Christine Todd Whitman to serve on the Supreme Court on January 6, 2000. She was confirmed by the Senate on January 10, 2000 and sworn in for a term to begin February 1, 2000. Justice LaVecchia was reappointed with tenure on December 14, 2006.

At the time of her initial nomination, Justice LaVecchia had been serving as the New Jersey Commissioner of Banking and Insurance since August 24, 1998. Prior to her appointment as commissioner, Justice LaVecchia had been the Director of the Division of Law within the Department of Law and Public Safety since August 1, 1984. As director, she was responsible for the legal work of all lawyers assigned to the civil side of the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office.

In addition, Justice LaVecchia served as Director and Chief Administrative Law Judge for the Office of Administrative Law from 1989 through July 1994. She also served in the Office of Counsel to Governor Thomas H. Kean, first as an Assistant Counsel and then as Deputy Chief Counsel. She also has been in private practice and worked as a deputy attorney general in the Division of Law.

Justice LaVecchia was born in Paterson on October 9, 1954. She is a 1976 graduate of Douglass College and graduated in 1979 from Rutgers School of Law in Newark. She has been a member of the New Jersey Bar since 1980. In 1996, she was elected a Fellow of the American Bar Association. She has chaired or served on various Supreme Court Committees, subcommittees, and other Court-assigned projects. She has been an active member of the Douglass College Alumnae Association.

Justice LaVecchia is married to Michael R. Cole. They live in Morris Township.