Hudson County Assignment Judge Jeffrey Jablonski has a new role in the state’s appellate division and has relinquished his role as Hudson County’s assignment judge.
Superior Court Judge David B. Katz has been named the new assignment judge for the Hudson Vicinage, effective Nov. 7, Chief Justice Stuart Rabner said.
Katz has served as presiding judge of the Essex Family Division since 2015.
Prior to his judicial career, Jablonski was in private practice from 1997 to 2013. He also worked for the Office of the Public Defender and was a municipal public defender for the Town of Kearny. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the College of the Holy Cross and his law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School at Western Michigan University.
“I thank Judge Jablonski for his leadership of the Hudson Vicinage,” Rabner said. “He has faced enormous personal challenges this past year and handled them with grace while he balanced the demands of the position of assignment judge. I am confident he will continue to serve with excellence in the Appellate Division.”
Katz has served on the bench in Essex County since 2008. He was assigned to the General Equity Division from 2013 to 2018. He is the past president of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and the chair of the Supreme Court Family Practice Committee.
“My experience with the national council showed me that New Jersey’s court system really sets a national standard in terms of innovation and reform, and in terms of its commitment to fairness and accessibility,” Judge Katz said. “I hope to continue that fine tradition of excellence in Hudson County, and I thank Chief Justice Rabner for placing his confidence in me.”
Katz is a former mayor of Livingston and served as an EMT for his local first aid squad.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.