David F. Bauman is a

New Jersey Superior Court The Superior Court is the state court in the U.S. state of New Jersey, with statewide trial and appellate jurisdiction. The New Jersey Constitution of 1947 establishes the power of the New Jersey courts.Jeffrey S. Mandel, New Jersey Appellate Pr ...

judge for Vicinage 9 Criminal Court sitting in

Freehold Freehold may refer to: In real estate *Freehold (law), the tenure of property in fee simple * Customary freehold, a form of feudal tenure of land in England * Parson's freehold, where a Church of England rector or vicar of holds title to benefice ...

, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

of Monmouth 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 by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, United States.

Background and education

Bauman is of Japanese American descent. He attended

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

(1981) and

Boston College Law School Boston College Law School (BC Law) is the law school of Boston College. It is situated on a wooded campus in Newton, Massachusetts, about 1.5 miles from the university's main campus in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. With approximately 800 stud ...

(1986) and served as a lawyer in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

. He joined New Jersey-based Bressler, Amery & Ross in 1991 and became partner in 1998. Bauman and his wife, a lawyer, live in Holmdel Township.

New Jersey state court

Appointment

Bauman was nominated to the Superior Court by Governor

Jon Corzine Jon Stevens Corzine ( ; born January 1, 1947) is an American financial executive and retired politician who served as a United States Senator from New Jersey from 2001 to 2006 and the 54th governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. Corzine ran fo ...

and confirmed by the New Jersey Senate in 2008. He was confirmed for

life tenure A life tenure or service during good behaviour is a term of office that lasts for the office holder's lifetime, unless the office holder is removed from office for cause under misbehaving in office, extraordinary circumstances or decides personal ...

in May 2015. (In New Jersey mandatory retirement age is seventy.)

Pledge of Allegiance ruling

In 2015 Bauman dismissed a case against the

Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District The Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District is a regional public school district in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The district serves students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from the communities of Aberdeen Townsh ...

brought by a student of the district and the American Humanist Association that argued that the phrase “under God” in the

Pledge of Allegiance The Pledge of Allegiance of the United States is a patriotic recited verse that promises allegiance to the flag of the United States and the republic of the United States of America. The first version, with a text different from the one used ...

created a climate of discrimination because it promoted religion, making non-believers “second-class citizens”. He said the student could choose to skip the pledge, but upheld a New Jersey law that says pupils must recite the pledge unless they have “conscientious scruples” that do not allow it. He noted; “As a matter of historical tradition, the words ‘under God’ can no more be expunged from the national consciousness than the words ‘In God We Trust’ from every coin in the land, than the words ‘so help me God’ from every presidential oath since 1789, or than the prayer that has opened every congressional session of legislative business since 1787.”

Supreme Court nominations

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 r ...

Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, lobbyist, and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. Christie, who was born in N ...

nominated Bauman and Robert Hanna to the

Supreme Court of New Jersey 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 th ...

in December 2012. Neither received a confirmation hearing and the nominations were withdrawn. Christie again nominated Bauman in February 2016. The nomination is controversial, re-igniting an ongoing debate about the political composition of the Supreme Court, which began when Christie chose not to re-nominate sitting Supreme Court Justice John E. Wallace, Jr. for life tenure. Christie said there would be "ramifications" but did not specify what they were. In April 2016, Christie nominated Walter F. Timpone.

References

External links

Ballotpedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bauman, David F.. 1956 births New Jersey state court judges Living people New Jersey lawyers People from Holmdel Township, New Jersey American jurists of Japanese descent New Jersey Republicans Asian conservatism in the United States