Judge Angela White Dalton of New Jersey Superior Court in Monmouth County. Photo by Suzette Parmley/ALM

The New Jersey Senate confirmed nine Superior Court judges for tenure Monday, and added a new administrative law judge.

A group motion vote by the Senate was made possible after Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, requested an emergency to add the judges to the board list so they could be voted on by the full Senate during its scheduled voting session that afternoon. The committee approved each of them earlier in the day.

The following judges were confirmed for tenure by the Senate by a 39-0 vote: Judge Mitzy Galis-Menendez of Hudson County; Judge Jeffrey R. Jablonski of Hudson County; Judge Angela White Dalton of Monmouth County; Judge Daniel Lindemann of Union County; Judge Stephen Taylor of Morris County; Judge James Wilson of Union County; Judge Marlene Lynch Ford of Ocean County; Judge Bradford M. Bury of Somerset County; and Judge Alan Lesnewich of Union County.

Joan M. Burke, who before the committee described becoming an administrative law judge as the "apex" of her legal career, beamed after she passed the committee vote. Burke previously worked in the Department of Law and Public Safety, Division of Consumer Affairs, where she's been since August 2014 as executive director of the Medical Practitioner Review Panel. Before that, she was at the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor as deputy attorney general from June 2004 to August 2014.

In her remarks to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Burke, who is also a registered nurse, reassured them she was ready for the new job.

"I want the chair to know that I have familiarized myself with the Bench Manual on Jury Selection and I am willing to accept electronic filings to include faxes," Burke said.

Dalton, of Howell, also told Scutari her office was accepting faxes as well.

"Senator, I want you to know that my staff have always been instructed to accept faxes, and indeed, our chambers is set up to ensure that everyone gets them on their computers," Dalton told the committee.

Like the others, she thanked her home senators, and the family court and assignment judges, for helping her through the first seven-year term.

"It has been the highest honor to serve the people of New Jersey for the past seven years as a Superior Court judge—something I dreamed of as a child and set as a goal," Dalton said.

Jablonski was just as appreciative of the last seven years. Jablonski gave a nod to how he and Scutari attended the same law school: Western Michigan University's Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan.

"True appreciation can only be demonstrated through action," Jablonski told the lawmakers. "Seven years ago, I promised this committee that I would reflect the characteristics that this committee demands of its judges: fairness, respect and patience. I feel I have committed myself to these laudable ideals and hope to continue serving the citizens of Hudson County and our state."

Ford, 65, of Seaside Park in Ocean County, was first nominated to the bench in 1992, where she served for 15 years. She left to become the Ocean County prosecutor from 2007 to 2013, and returned seven years ago to be the assignment judge in Ocean County.

"It's an honor and privilege." Ford said to the Law Journal prior to the Senate vote. "It's been quite an honor and an experience. Every day you have to remind yourself of the opportunity that the people of New Jersey gave you to serve them."

Just after 3 p.m., the Senate voted through all nine renominations to Superior Court and Burke's first-time nomination as administrative law judge.