Gary Saul Stein (born June 13, 1933) is an American attorney and former
Associate Justice
Associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some state ...
of the
New Jersey Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of New Jersey is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, the Supreme Court of New Jersey is the final judicial authority on all cases in the state court system, including cases challenging the ...
, He served on New Jersey's Supreme Court for 17 years where he wrote over 365 published opinions. From 1982 until 1985, he served as the Director of the New Jersey Governor's Office of Policy and Planning. He also served as the
Paramus
Paramus ( Waggoner, Walter H ''The New York Times'', February 16, 1966. Accessed October 16, 2018. "Paramus – pronounced puh-RAHM-us, with the accent on the second syllable – may have taken its name from 'perremus' or 'perymus,' Indian for ...
Borough Attorney and serves on the boards of Trustees of
The Valley Hospital
The Valley Hospital is a 451-bed, acute-care, not-for-profit hospital in Ridgewood, Bergen County, New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east ...
in
Ridgewood, New Jersey
Ridgewood is a village in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 24,958,Drew University
Drew University is a private university in Madison, New Jersey. Drew has been nicknamed the "University in the Forest" because of its wooded campus. As of fall 2020, more than 2,200 students were pursuing degrees at the university's three scho ...
in
Madison, New Jersey
Madison is a borough in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 16,937.
Located along the Morris & Essex Lines, it is noted for Madison's historic railroad station becoming one ...
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', October 11, 1984. Accessed November 17, 2017. "Mr. Stein was born June 13, 1933, in Newark and attended schools in Irvington, where he was raised. He graduated from Duke University in 1954 and the university's Law School in 1956." He attended and graduated with a B.A. from
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
in 1954 and a J.D. from
Duke University School of Law
Duke University School of Law (Duke Law School or Duke Law) is the law school of Duke University, a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. One of Duke's 10 schools and colleges, the School of Law is a constituent academic unit th ...
in 1956.
He moved to
Paramus, New Jersey
Paramus ( Waggoner, Walter H ''The New York Times'', February 16, 1966. Accessed October 16, 2018. "Paramus – pronounced puh-RAHM-us, with the accent on the second syllable – may have taken its name from 'perremus' or 'perymus,' Indian for ...
, in 1956. In 1964, Stein lost the race for mayor of Paramus.
Stein had met Tom Kean in the 1950s while both were serving in the
New Jersey National Guard
The New Jersey Army National Guard consists of more than 6,000 Citizen-Soldiers. The New Jersey Army National Guard is currently engaged in multiple worldwide and homeland missions. Units have deployed to Iraq, Guantanamo Bay, Afghanistan, Germ ...
and became active in statewide politics when he supported Kean's gubernatorial efforts in both
1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...
(when Kean unsuccessfully ran in the Republican primary) and when he was elected as
Governor of New Jersey
The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official res ...
in the 1981 race.
Stein, a resident of Upper Saddle River, was nominated to the Supreme Court by Kean to succeed
Sidney M. Schreiber
Sidney M. Schreiber (1915–2009) was an associate justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1975 to 1984. His notable opinions on the court include expanding citizen access to public beaches and increasing consumer protection from drug compan ...
, who had reached the required retirement age of 70 after serving on the court since 1975. Despite criticism that Stein was working in government as an aide to Kean, had never been a judge and was not actively practicing law at the time, Kean cited Stein's "depth of knowledge and experience" as being a benefit to the court.
On December 19, 2007, the
New Jersey Casino Control Commission
The Casino Control Commission is a New Jersey state governmental agency that was founded in 1977 as the state's Gaming Control Board, responsible under the Casino Control Act for licensing casinos in Atlantic City. The commission also issues lic ...
announced that Stein would serve as conservator of the
Tropicana Casino and Resort
Tropicana Atlantic City, also known as The Trop and previously as TropWorld Resort, is a resort, casino hotel located on the beach and Boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It is owned by Gaming and Leisure Properties and operated by Caesars ...
in
Atlantic City
Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...
following the denial of the license renewal and removal of Adamar of New Jersey, the casino licensee and its parent company, Kentucky based Columbia Sussex Corporation. Since his retirement from the bench, Stein has also served as an adjunct faculty member at
Rutgers School of Law - Newark
Rutgers Law School is the law school of Rutgers University, with classrooms in Newark and Camden, New Jersey. It is the largest public law school and the 10th largest law school, overall, in the United States. Each class in the three-year J.D. pr ...
where he currently teaches election law.
The Elizabeth Board of Education paid Stein $500,000 to write a report denying a series of articles authored by Ted Sherman that appeared in ''
The Star-Ledger
''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to ''The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the '' Staten Island Advance'', all of wh ...
''. The stories outlined patterns of corruption including thievery in the school lunch program, illegal political influence related to school jobs and employees being subjected to shakedowns for campaign contributions. Although the school board president was among several people arrested in connection to the free lunch scandal, Stein concluded that the newspaper reports were inaccurate.
Sherman also reported that millions of taxpayer dollars had been spent to hush-up legal complaints filed against the district. Stein dismissed those expenditures and the illegal actions that brought on hundreds of lawsuits for wrongful termination, extortion, political retribution and other causes.
Stein is the father of five children by his wife Et Stein and the grandfather of 16. He currently works at Pashman Stein in