WE DOUBLE-DATED BEFORE HIS SEAT ON THE BENCH

Sharon and Arnee Cohen with Barry Albin 12=9-1976 Arnee and Barry took their oaths to be members of the NJ Bar and Deputy Attorney Generals Photo credit Benjamin Mark

Barry Albin has had a distinctive legal career. That was why I pitched his story to the newspaper where I am a staff writer. It fit right into my motto that everyone deserves a legacy. The piece was published on February 15, 2024. https://jewishlink.news/barry-albin-looks-back-on-tenure-on-njs-highest-court/

For publication in the newspaper, parts were cut due to spacing issues. The beauty of my blog post is that I can give you the back story along with the long version of the article. Read on.

A year after he retired from the bench, we spent 4 1/2 hours on the phone with friendly banter, catching up on the in-between years. Justice Albin, Barry to me, was our guest for dinner at our apartment in Elizabeth when he and my husband worked together at the New Jersey Attorney General’s (AG’s) office when they were Deputies fresh out of law school.

My father snapped a black and white photo of the three of us casually sitting around between sessions on the day that Barry and my husband were sworn into the Bar before they later in the day officially received their designations as Deputy Attorneys General. In case you were wondering, I was wearing a red dress.

Another friend from the AG’s office, Dan, was at that casual dinner at our apartment. For some reason, the memory of the meatloaf I baked for the guys stays in my mind. It was my mother’s recipe with hard-boiled eggs inside and mashed potatoes on top.

A funny part of the conversation also creeps from my memory. In response to something said that evening as we sat around the dinner table, Dan replied, “You see Sharon, I wasn’t raised with a silver spoon in my mouth,” to which I quickly responded, “No…gold!” In my mind’s eye, I can see Dan’s “You got me” and Barry laughing.

Another time, Barry was at our house in South Orange, where I have a picture of him at our kitchen table playing Trivial Pursuit. That was probably between one of our double dates. Those were the days my friend, but work and family life caused them maybe not to end, but not to endure as they had when the guys were working together for the first year or so of their careers.

Over the years the guys were together at various legal functions and AG office reunions. I was there each time when Arnee appeared before the court and Barry acknowledged me. We even ran into him in Atlantic City while he was still on the bench and as we chatted at length, other people came by and appeared to know him. He chuckled as he said, “You know me, they ‘know’ me.”

Barry remembered his first day at the AG’s office, parking his car and walking up the stairs and into the office with my husband. About 25 years ago, he was a guest on my husband’s long-running radio talk show, the World of Work. They discussed their brown bag lunches back in the days at the AG’s office. One of my blog posts was I Like People Who Remember, dated October 20, 2020; Barry is one of those people.

It’s nice to catch up with old friends and to reestablish relationships with fine people. After lots of telltales and laughter, when we finished our four lengthy conversations, totaling more than half a day’s work, I reported to my husband that it felt as though I was speaking with my brother.

The years may have flown by but after a few hours of friendly discussion dotted with humor, it felt like yesterday. We look forward to making plans to socialize again after so many years adrift.

Now for the full story:

Justice Barry T. Albin, highly esteemed for his brilliant legal acumen, retired from his position on the highest court of New Jersey on July 7, 2022. The trailblazing Albin, hard-working and hamish, reached the mandatory retirement age of 70, what he has referred to as the "constitutional age of senility." During his tenure as an associate justice on the New Jersey Supreme Court, he authored more than 400 opinions, including over 230 majority opinions, more than 130 dissents, and dozens of concurrences.

Justice Albin reflected on his legacy and noted that his majority opinion in Lewis v. Harris garnered the most attention out of all his written opinions. The decision handed down on October 25, 2006 guaranteed equal rights to same-sex couples under our state constitution.

The opinion that took Albin the longest to write was State v. Fortin. In October 2002, one month after taking his seat on the high court bench, he was assigned to write the majority opinion reversing a death penalty conviction. Albin believed in what he was writing and did not anguish when crafting his opinions.

During his last term on the bench, “There were a number of controversial cases before the court.” Just before retirement, Albin wrote the opinions on two of what he termed “rule of law” cases. In one case, the court majority vacated a murder conviction, and in another granted parole to an inmate convicted of a murder that occurred 49 years earlier.

Albin stated that “the court is bound to protect the individual rights of people scorned by society, which often members of the public have trouble understanding.” Albin added that courts in upholding fundamental rights, at times, must render unpopular decisions and resist the temptation to bend to public opinion.

Growing up in Queens, New York, Albin attended Hebrew school in Flushing before moving to Bayside at age 10. He recalls donning tefillin, reading Torah and chanting Haftorah in 1965 when he became a bar mitzvah at a conservative synagogue.

While Albin was attending high school, his family relocated to Sayreville, New Jersey, along with several aunts and uncles and his grandfather who lived on the same block. He termed the difference in the population of the school and the surrounding neighborhood as “a culture shock.” In his new school, with a graduating class of 500, there was one other Jewish student.

The son of American-born parents Norma and Gerald, Albin is the youngest of three boys. After Gerald returned from four years of service in the Coast Guard during WWII, he married in 1946 and was the father of three by 1952. Gerald followed in his family’s footsteps and worked in a newspaper pressroom. In his final years, he managed the pressroom at The New York Times plant in Secaucus. In the 1960’s Albin recalls becoming a “current events junkie” as his father regularly brought home all the dailies from New York.

Albin’s early home life was happy and carefree. When he was 13 years old, he ventured to the World's Fair in New York without his parents. He lamented, “It was a different time, and children then were more adventurous and not overly protected.” Neither his mother, a homemaker, nor his father attended college, yet both were well read and bred in their children a love of reading. Although nothing was mentioned on the subject, it was expected and understood that his brothers and he would go to college.

While his brothers Stuart and Robert both pursued careers in dentistry, Albin decided at a young age to be a lawyer. He decided on this path out of “a desire to do public service and make some positive difference in the world.” His love of history and English were his natural strengths.

Albin speaks lovingly of his grandparents and his weekly visits to their homes. They were all English-speaking, with some spatters of Yiddish, his maternal grandfather being the most religious. He relished a special relationship into his twenties with his grandfather David Albin, who lived the longest of his four grandparents and lived on his block. Albin never attended any sleep-away summer camps, instead, he recalled spending precious family time in the Jewish Alps, the Catskills. There, many family members crammed into his grandfather’s small house in the hamlet of Hurleyville.

His ancestors, some from the Baltic states but mainly from the Pale of Settlement, were all working-class. His niece researched their family history, finding no known judges or rabbis in their ancestry.

After graduating from Rutgers College in New Brunswick in three years, Albin attended Cornell Law School. Graduating in 1976, he then returned to his home state to begin his career as a Deputy Attorney General in the Appellate Section of the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice. He went on to serve as an Assistant Prosecutor in Passaic and Middlesex Counties from 1978 to 1982.

In those four years as an Assistant Prosecutor, Albin handled approximately 40 jury trials and gained a reputation as a fair and well-prepared attorney on the rise. Warren Wilentz met Albin as opposing counsel on a case. Not long after losing the case to the young Albin, Warren asked him to join his prominent Woodbridge law firm of Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer (Wilentz) in 1982. Warren Wilentz became his mentor and friend. But Albin rose to the position of partner in 1986 the old-fashioned way – through hard work and success in the courtroom.

For twenty years Albin practiced law in the private sector, handling criminal defense and civil rights cases as well as tort and employment law cases. With years in public service and private practice under his belt, and what he proclaimed as “a hearty work ethic,” he began to climb the ladder culminating in a coveted position on the high court.

While working at Wilentz, Albin met and befriended Jim McGreevey, who then came to work at the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office Albin had just left. Their friendship grew as they converged in the hallways of the courthouse. Albin became a mentor to McGreevey and when McGreevey first ran for Governor, Albin offered him advice.

As their friendship blossomed, Albin thought that he might be asked to fill the position of Attorney General, but as Governor-Elect, McGreevey broached the subject of a Supreme Court seat, which Albin stated, “took [him] by surprise.” Ten years earlier, Albin had been bypassed for the position of Prosecutor of Middlesex County, a disappointment he did not regret. Those additional years allowed him to handle the most important work he did in private practice, which ultimately better served him for a position on the high court.

In 2002, just over a century after Albin’s ancestors emigrated from the Pale of Settlement, McGreevey, then Governor, appointed Albin, age 50 at the time, to the bench. After serving his initial seven-year term, Albin was reappointed for a second term that ran until he reached his retirement age of 70. McGreevey, speaking at Albin’s retirement dinner, quipped that Albin was too honest to be Attorney General.

A look inside the day of a New Jersey Supreme Court Justice reveals long hours and the need for competent staff. Throughout his years on the bench, Albin hired 60 law clerks from various law schools nationwide and well over 100 interns. What he found critical in hiring young lawyers was their ability to work harmoniously as a team. He selected those clerks who could best serve in the small quarters of his chambers and who showed enthusiasm and a committed work ethic. Finding law clerks who could work well together was a key factor in the selection process.

Cases before the New Jersey High Court are heard two days every two weeks from September through part of April. After hearing cases, the following Tuesday the justices sit around the table for discussion and a final vote. The chief justice then assigns a member of the majority to write the opinion. But there are many things the justices are responsible for in addition to deciding cases, including attorney discipline. The justices continue sitting through mid-July, writing opinions through August. Albin always set aside the last two weeks of August for family vacations.

Before joining the court, he had no preconceived notions about the work ahead, but Albin said that he was surprised that he was putting in more hours on the court than he did in private practice. Remaining dedicated to the work he was doing, whether writing a majority, dissenting or concurring opinion, Albin was always mindful that the outcome could affect the lives of not just the litigants, but thousands of other people and serve as a precedent for future cases.

To Albin, a good judge, while on the bench, treats lawyers and litigants with decorum and respect and is sensitive to the public’s perception of judicial impartiality. For that reason, he recused himself from cases if an attorney was a close friend. He also never sat on cases argued by his former law firm.

Although raised in a “fairly secular household,” Albin and his brothers “all attended Hebrew school, had a bar mitzvah and attended religious services.” He recalls Passover Seders at the homes of various relatives before the decades-long tradition of gathering at his brother Stuart’s home for Seders. He affirmed that his “upbringing played a role in the principles that guide him.”

Albin declared what he enjoys most about his profession is, “the positive impact on the lives of other people and the ability to right some wrongs, giving people a fair shot in the judicial system.” “In every phase of [his] career,” he added, “[he] did important and satisfying things and continues providing important services to members of the public.”

Throughout his career, Justice Albin has remained a devoted family man, always supported by his wife Inna, who is also an attorney. The couple has two sons, Gerald and Daniel. In his free time, Albin enjoys reading historical books and great works of literature and attending Broadway shows. On a typical day, he reads both the New York Times and the Star-Ledger. Due to his extensive experience and knowledge, he is frequently invited to speak at various events and is a member of multiple legal organizations.

Reminiscent of RBG, BTA (Barry T. Albin) exercises routinely with a swimming pool in his backyard and gym equipment in his basement. He keeps his mind active by watching TV as he uses the exercise equipment. A self-taught pianist, he enjoys playing piano, yet the one thing he would like to find time for is to write a book.

His humility is refreshing, and his sense of humor is endearing. Albin’s optimism is front and center when he declares he is not concerned about the future of our courts, stating, “Our system of justice has safeguards to keep mistakes to a minimum. The layers of the court system weed out those mistakes. Yet, there is a constant quest to improve the system and make it fairer and more just.”

Albin, one year after retiring from his 20-year tenure concluded that, in some respects, "Robes off was more difficult than robes on." Justice Albin is currently working as a partner in the Litigation Department of the national law firm Lowenstein Sandler in their Roseland office. Additionally, he chairs their Appellate Practice Group and serves as a neutral arbitrator and mediator in complicated, high-stakes disputes.