John Michael Vazquez

John Michael Vazquez (born May 11, 1970) is a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.

John Michael Vazquez
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
Incumbent
Assumed office January 29, 2016
Appointed by	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Joel A. Pisano
Personal details
Born	May 11, 1970 Honolulu, Hawaii
Education	Rutgers University (BA) Seton Hall University School of Law (JD)

Early life and education

Vazquez was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1970.[1] His family moved to New Jersey when he was several months old.[2] Vazquez received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1992 from Rutgers University. He received a Juris Doctor, summa cum laude, in 1996 from Seton Hall University School of Law.[1][3]

Legal career

Vasquez served as law clerk to Judge Herman D. Michels of the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, from 1996 to 1997.[1]

He served as an associate in the Law Offices of Michael Critchley and Associates from 1997 to 2001. From 2001 to 2006, he was an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey. From 2006 to 2008, he worked in the Office of the New Jersey Attorney General, serving first as Special Assistant to the Attorney General and subsequently as First Assistant Attorney General. from 2008 to 2016, he was a partner at Critchley, Kinum & Vazquez, LLC.[3] In that role, Vasquez represented Anthony R. Suarez, mayor of Ridgefield, New Jersey, during his 2010 trial on corruption charges, and won an acquittal, ending "a government streak of more than 200 public corruption convictions spanning more than a decade."[4]

Federal judicial service

On March 26, 2015, President Obama nominated Vazquez to serve as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, to the seat vacated by Judge Joel A. Pisano, who retired on February 16, 2015. His nomination was reported from the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 17, 2015, by voice vote.[5][6] Vasquez was unanimously rated as "well qualified" for the judgeship by the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, the committee's highest rating.[7] His nomination received the support of both of New Jersey's senators, Cory Booker and Robert Menendez.[8]

Vazquez was confirmed by the Senate on January 27, 2016, by a vote of 84 to 2.[9] He received his judicial commission on January 29, 2016.[1]

References

1. "Vazquez, John Michael". Biographical Directory of Federal Judges. Federal Judicial Center.
2. Maureen T. Coghlan, An Interview with the Honorable John Michael Vazquez, United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey, New Jersey State Bar Association Federal Practice and Procedure Section (January 2017).
3. "President Obama Nominates Two to Serve on the United States District Courts" (Press release). White House Office of the Press Secretary. March 26, 2015.
4. Herb Jackson, Senate confirms N.J. attorney John Michael Vazquez to be federal judge, The Record (January 27, 2016).
5. "Presidential Nominations Sent to the Senate". White House Office of the Press Secretary. March 26, 2015.
6. "Executive Business Meeting". United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. September 17, 2015.
7. Rating of Article III and Article IV Judicial Nominees, 114th Congress, American Bar Association, Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary.
8. Tim Darragh, New federal judge should ease judicial logjam, NJ Advance Media (February 2, 2016).
9. "Vote Summary: Question: On the Nomination (Confirmation John Michael Vazquez, of New Jersey, to be U.S. District Judge for the District of New Jersey". United States Senate, 114th Congress, 2nd Session. January 27, 2016.

External links

• John Michael Vazquez at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
• John Michael Vazquez at Ballotpedia