Michael Patrick King

Judge Michael Patrick King passed away on Nov. 25, 2017. A graduate of Fordham University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he was a member of the Law Review, King practiced law in South Jersey during the 1960s and early '70s. He developed a substantial expertise in insurance and evidence law. In 1972 he was appointed to the Superior Court by Gov. Cahill, and then was elevated to the Appellate Division. We should remember that in our state, Superior Court judges are assigned to the Appellate Division on merit by the chief justice.

All told, Judge King served over 30 years in the New Jersey judiciary, and authored over 400 published opinions. Because appeals are taken as of right to the Appellate Division, that court serves as the “work horse” of the appellate judiciary, placing its stamp on every area of law. Further, because of the New Jersey Supreme Court's limited and discretionary jurisdiction, most Appellate Division decisions are “final.” Judge King was chair of the Municipal Court Committee and a member of the Criminal Practice Committee, and then chair of the Criminal Practice Committee from 1982-1986. One former colleague remembered: “He was really loved by his law clerks and by lawyers as he educated from the bench, but not in a pedantic way. He combined scholarship with a great personality and sense of humor.”

Judge King wrote a number of opinions, not surprisingly, on the law of insurance. However, his entire, wide range of well-written opinions have left an enduring mark on all areas of the law of New Jersey. He took a particular interest in the state constitution. Judge King was rarely reversed by the New Jersey Supreme Court, and served very important roles as that court's special master in a major 1998 school-finance decision, together with serving as special master in the Alcotest litigation. One lawyer who practiced before him said: “He was our role model. Everyone down in the South recognized him as the smartest and the brightest. I met him over 50 years ago when he spoke to my law school class and then he taught me in the mandatory five week Skills and Methods course. (some of you remember what that was). He was among the first to support and encourage women in the practice of law. He was considered the best civil trial lawyer in South Jersey.”

Judge King was a mentor to generations of law clerks, who honed their skills of legal writing and analysis under his direction. Another former colleague noted: “We all learned about opinion writing from him. His own opinions were complete in every way. His law clerks, who knew him best, honored the very ground he walked on. And the Supreme Court regarded him so highly that it left it to him to untangle some of the thorniest issues of the day, including those presented in Abbot v. Burke.” Judge King's law clerks have gone on to become judges themselves, as well as professors and effective lawyers. Some of his former clerks shared their interesting reflections in tributes to him upon his retirement from the bench in Volume 35, Number 4, of the Rutgers Law Journal.

Michael Patrick King

Judge Michael Patrick King passed away on Nov. 25, 2017. A graduate of Fordham University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he was a member of the Law Review, King practiced law in South Jersey during the 1960s and early '70s. He developed a substantial expertise in insurance and evidence law. In 1972 he was appointed to the Superior Court by Gov. Cahill, and then was elevated to the Appellate Division. We should remember that in our state, Superior Court judges are assigned to the Appellate Division on merit by the chief justice.

All told, Judge King served over 30 years in the New Jersey judiciary, and authored over 400 published opinions. Because appeals are taken as of right to the Appellate Division, that court serves as the “work horse” of the appellate judiciary, placing its stamp on every area of law. Further, because of the New Jersey Supreme Court's limited and discretionary jurisdiction, most Appellate Division decisions are “final.” Judge King was chair of the Municipal Court Committee and a member of the Criminal Practice Committee, and then chair of the Criminal Practice Committee from 1982-1986. One former colleague remembered: “He was really loved by his law clerks and by lawyers as he educated from the bench, but not in a pedantic way. He combined scholarship with a great personality and sense of humor.”

Judge King wrote a number of opinions, not surprisingly, on the law of insurance. However, his entire, wide range of well-written opinions have left an enduring mark on all areas of the law of New Jersey. He took a particular interest in the state constitution. Judge King was rarely reversed by the New Jersey Supreme Court, and served very important roles as that court's special master in a major 1998 school-finance decision, together with serving as special master in the Alcotest litigation. One lawyer who practiced before him said: “He was our role model. Everyone down in the South recognized him as the smartest and the brightest. I met him over 50 years ago when he spoke to my law school class and then he taught me in the mandatory five week Skills and Methods course. (some of you remember what that was). He was among the first to support and encourage women in the practice of law. He was considered the best civil trial lawyer in South Jersey.”

Judge King was a mentor to generations of law clerks, who honed their skills of legal writing and analysis under his direction. Another former colleague noted: “We all learned about opinion writing from him. His own opinions were complete in every way. His law clerks, who knew him best, honored the very ground he walked on. And the Supreme Court regarded him so highly that it left it to him to untangle some of the thorniest issues of the day, including those presented in Abbot v. Burke.” Judge King's law clerks have gone on to become judges themselves, as well as professors and effective lawyers. Some of his former clerks shared their interesting reflections in tributes to him upon his retirement from the bench in Volume 35, Number 4, of the Rutgers Law Journal.