Judge Cuff Named Chair of Disciplinary Review Board

Retired Judge Mary Catherine Cuff, who served in leadership positions throughout the Judiciary during her career, has been named the next chair of the New Jersey Supreme Court’s Disciplinary Review Board.

Judge Cuff’s appointment, effective April 1, was announced Monday by Chief Justice Stuart Rabner. She replaces retired Judge Maurice J. Gallipoli, who began his service on the Disciplinary Review Board (DRB) in February 2012 and has retired from the board.

The DRB reviews attorney misconduct cases prosecuted by the Office of Attorney Ethics and, after a public hearing, decides whether to dismiss the case or recommend sanctions to the Supreme Court. If the DRB recommends disbarment, the Court will hold a hearing before deciding on final discipline.

“We thank Judge Gallipoli for leading the DRB with distinction for many years – yet another facet of his remarkable career in public service,” Chief Justice Rabner said. “We’re also fortunate that Judge Cuff is well-suited to continue the tradition of excellence at the DRB. Throughout Judge Cuff’s storied career with the Judiciary, she has been a model of scholarship, wisdom, and grace.”

First sworn onto the court in February 1988, Judge Cuff spent 28 years on the bench, including stints as a family division presiding judge in the Monmouth Vicinage, a presiding judge in the Appellate Division, and as a judge temporarily assigned to the state Supreme Court.

“I am honored and humbled by the Court’s invitation to accept this appointment,” Judge Cuff said. “The DRB plays an important role in maintaining not only the ethical obligations undertaken by attorneys, but also the need to ensure the public that those in the legal profession will work to protect the best interests of their clients.”

Judge Cuff began her legal career as a law clerk for Judge Robert A. Matthews. She served as a deputy attorney general in the Office of the Attorney General from 1974 to 1978. She served as an assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of New Jersey from 1978 to 1986, concluding her service there as chief of the civil division.

Appointed to the bench by Gov. Thomas Kean in 1988, she was assigned to the Monmouth civil division for three years. She sat in the family division until 1994, when she was appointed to the Appellate Division. She was named an appellate presiding judge in September 2005 and was temporarily assigned to the Supreme Court from 2012 until her retirement from the bench in 2016.

Judge Cuff also chaired the Supreme Court Committee on Judicial Education for more than a decade and chaired the Advisory Committee on Public Access from 2009 to 2012. She is a graduate of Rutgers University Law School and Rosemont College.

The DRB consists of nine members appointed by the Supreme Court who serve without compensation. Three appointees are non-lawyer public members, one member is typically a retired judge, and the remaining five members are attorneys.