Peter Verniero previously served as a justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court and as New Jersey Attorney General; he is presently in private practice in New Jersey.
21 Facts About Peter Verniero
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Peter Verniero received a JD degree from Duke University School of Law in 1984.
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From 1985 to 1994 Peter Verniero was an attorney in private practice and active in New Jersey Republican politics.
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Peter Verniero was appointed Governor Christine Todd Whitman's first chief counsel in 1994.
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At the time, Peter Verniero's nomination was criticized on account of his youth and relative lack of trial experience.
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Peter Verniero was 39 at the time of his nomination.
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Between 1999 and 2004, Peter Verniero authored 124 decisions on a variety of matters, 72 of which were majority opinions.
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In 2001 Peter Verniero came under attack for statements he made to the New Jersey Senate during his 1999 confirmation hearings regarding allegations of racial profiling by the New Jersey State Police.
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Senators had said Peter Verniero was not completely forthcoming regarding racial profiling during his tenure as attorney general, an accusation he strongly denied.
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An attempt to impeach Peter Verniero failed in the New Jersey General Assembly.
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On September 30,2003, Peter Verniero announced that he would retire from the Supreme Court at the end of the Court's 2004 term.
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Similarly, the New Jersey State Bar Association, a vocal early critic of Peter Verniero, noted that their concerns about his inexperience had been relieved by his performance on the bench and dedication to the justice system.
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In 2010, Peter Verniero was recruited by Governor Chris Christie to chair the seven-member Judicial Advisory Panel.
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The state has retained Peter Verniero to serve as special counsel on a variety of high-profile matters, including state education funding and higher education restructuring.
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Peter Verniero continues to be actively involved in issues related to New Jersey public safety and welfare through his support of various charitable organizations.
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Peter Verniero has helped raise funds for organizations like SAFE in Hunterdon, which provides shelter and care for victims of domestic violence, and Crime Stoppers, a nationwide initiative to encourage anonymous tips to aid law enforcement.
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Peter Verniero served as a member of the board of the Hunterdon Healthcare System.
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In 2016, the New Jersey Bar Foundation, an arm of the State Bar Association, announced that Peter Verniero was that year's recipient of its highest award, the Medal of Honor, conferred annually to those who make exemplary contributions to the legal profession.
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Since the death of former Appellate Division Judge Sylvia Pressler in 2010, Peter Verniero has been the commentator and annotator of the Gann Law Books edition of the Rules Governing the Courts of the State of New Jersey, which is a commonly used edition of the Court Rules in New Jersey.
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Peter Verniero is frequently published as an authority on matters related to New Jersey public policy and the judiciary in such publications as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and the Star-Ledger of Newark.
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Peter Verniero is married to the former Lisa Gaede and has two children: Jaye and Madeline.