Statement of Chief Justice Rabner on the Passing of Justice James H. Coleman, Jr.

“Justice Coleman’s life story – the self-described son of a ‘southern dirt farmer’ and grandson of a slave, who grew up in the racial segregation era of Jim Crow – will continue to serve as an inspiration for generations to come. He was without question a pioneer in New Jersey’s court system: the first African American to serve as a workers’ compensation judge, the first to serve as an appellate judge, and the first African American to serve on the state Supreme Court. 

His legacy lives on through his work. Over the course of a remarkable 39-year career in the Judiciary, Justice Coleman authored more than 2,000 opinions. They included landmark decisions about the jury selection process and cross-racial identification evidence, which helped remove discrimination from our courtrooms. 

As Justice Coleman eloquently described in an essay after his retirement, he ‘looked for the opportunity in every difficulty rather than the difficulty in every opportunity.’ In doing so, he marked a path that has helped create a fairer system of justice.”