Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Cory Booker
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Cory Booker, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Bob Menendez (both D-N.J.) today applauded President Biden’s nomination of Michael E. Farbiarz and Judge Robert Kirsch to the United States District Court of New Jersey. Their nominations were announced by the White House this morning as part of a group of six judicial nominees.
“Michael E. Farbiarz and Judge Robert Kirsch are highly qualified nominees who bring a strong commitment to justice, fairness, and the law to the federal bench,” said Senator Booker. “They have both had distinguished legal careers and years of dedication to public service. I am confident in their ability to administer fair and impartial justice to the people of New Jersey and our country. I want to thank President Biden for nominating them, and I look forward to their hearing before the Judiciary Committee and their confirmations by the Senate.
“President Biden has nominated two exceptional and uniquely qualified individuals to serve on the U.S. District Court in Judge Robert Kirsch and Michael E. Farbiarz. Their experience, dedication to justice, and strong values are certain to serve the people of New Jersey well,” said Senator Menendez. “For the past two years, we have been working diligently to fill the many vacancies on New Jersey’s District Courts and today’s nominations mean that the people of New Jersey can have confidence knowing that their judiciary is not only complete, but reflective of the diversity and values of our residents.”
Michael E. Farbiarz has served as the General Counsel of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey since 2016. From 2014 to 2016, Mr. Farbiarz was a Senior Fellow at New York University School of Law. Mr. Farbiarz served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York from 2004 to 2014, including as Co-Chief of the Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit from 2010 to 2014. Mr. Farbiarz was an associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell in New York from 2001 to 2004. He served as a law clerk for Judge José A. Cabranes on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 2000 to 2001 and for Chief Judge Michael B. Mukasey on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York from 1999 to 2000. Mr. Farbiarz received his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1999 and his A.B. from Harvard University in 1995.
Robert Kirsch has served as a judge on the New Jersey Superior Court for Union County since 2010. Previously, Judge Kirsch was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey from 1997 to 2010 and served as a trial attorney in the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C from 1993 to 1997. Judge Kirsch entered the Department of Justice through the Attorney General’s Honors Program in 1993. He served as a law clerk for Judge William Zloch on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida from 1991 to 1993. Judge Kirsch received his J.D. from Fordham University School of Law in 1991 and his B.A. from Emory University in 1988.
In May, Judge Evelyn Padin was confirmed by the Senate to serve on New Jersey’s District Court. Before Padin’s confirmation, the Senate confirmed Georgette Castner on March 31st and Christine P. O’Hearn on March 1st. Last year, the Senate confirmed the appointments of Judges Zahid Quraishi, Julien X. Neals and Karen M. Williams to serve on New Jersey’s District Court. Prior to these judicial appointments, New Jersey had six district court vacancies and was declared a “judicial emergency.”
Senator Booker has served on the Senate Judiciary Committee since 2018. He has been a leader in the Senate on criminal justice and policing reform since he was first elected in 2013. Booker has introduced numerous criminal justice reform proposals, including: the Marijuana Justice Act, the Fair Chance Act, the CARERS Act, the MERCY Act, the Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act, the Second Look Act, and the Justice in Policing Act. He was also a key architect of the most sweeping overhaul of the criminal justice system in decades, the First Step Act, which was signed into law in 2018.