Associate Justice Virginia A. Long

Justice Long was born March l, 1942 in Elizabeth. She attended parochial schools in the city, graduating from Benedictine Academy in 1959. She was a dean's list student at Dunbarton College of Holy Cross, Washington, D.C., and graduated in 1963. She attended Rutgers Law School, where she was captain of the Appellate Moot Court team and winner of the competition prizes for best oralist and best brief. She received her law degree in 1966 and was admitted to the bar. .

Justice Long began her legal career as a Deputy Attorney General for the New Jersey Attorney General's Office. She was a Deputy Assistant General in 1973 when she became a litigation associate with the law firm of Pitney, Hardin, Kipp and Szuch. She returned to government service in 1975 as Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs, and then served as Commissioner of the Department of Banking from 1977 to 1978.

Justice Long was appointed to the Superior Court by Governor Brendan Byrne in 1978. She presided over civil, criminal and family law cases. From 1983 to 1984, she was the general equity judge for the Mercer/Somerset/Hunterdon Vicinage. In 1984, then-Chief Justice Robert N. Wilentz elevated her to the Appellate Division, where she served for 15 years and penned over 2,000 opinions. In 1995, she became a presiding judge. Justice Long chaired and served as a member of numerous Supreme Court committees, including the Extrajudicial Activities and Judicial Performance Committees.

Governor Christine Todd Whitman announced Justice Long's appointment to the Supreme Court on June 8, 1999. The Senate confirmed the nomination nine days later, and she took her oath on Sept. 1, 1999. She served on the Court until she retired on Feb. 29, 2012. She is married to Jonathan D. Weiner and is the mother of three children.

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