Associate Justice Douglas M. Fasciale

Justice Douglas M. Fasciale was nominated by Gov Phil Murphy and was sworn in as an associate justice on Oct. 21, 2022.

Justice Fasciale was born on Nov. 5, 1960, and was raised in East Brunswick.

Justice Fasciale received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Seton Hall University in 1982. In 1986, he received his Juris Doctor from Seton Hall University School of Law. He immediately served his judicial clerkship with Judge John E. Keefe, who served in the Superior Court and in the Appellate Division, and then practiced law as a trial attorney for approximately 17 years. In 2000, he became a Certified Civil Trial Attorney by the New Jersey Supreme Court, a designation that was held by fewer than 3 percent of New Jersey attorneys.

In 2004, Gov. James McGreevey appointed Justice Fasciale to the Superior Court for a 7-year term. In 2011, Gov. Chris Christie re-appointed him to the Superior Court, where he served as a tenured judge. Chief Justice Stuart Rabner temporarily assigned Justice Fasciale to the Supreme Court effective September 2022.

At the trial level, Justice Fasciale served in the civil, criminal, and family parts of the Superior Court. Before elevation to the appellate court, Chief Justice Rabner designated him presiding judge of the civil and criminal parts. He also served as a recovery court judge.

In May 2010, Chief Justice Rabner elevated Justice Fasciale to the Appellate Division of the Superior Court, where he served as a presiding judge before becoming a member of the Supreme Court.

Justice Fasciale is an elected member of the American Law Institute. In 2023, Justice Fasciale obtained a Masters of Judicial Studies LL.M. degree from Duke University School of Law. As part of the three-year master’s program, he authored. A Case Study Analyzing How Trial Judge Experience Shapes Intermediate Appellate Review of Discretionary Determinations, 53 Seton Hall L. Rev. 1043 (2023).