Alan B. handler, associate judge and former member of the Supreme Court of New Jersey died at the age of 92. He was an Appellate Division opinion who used to give the right to play Little League baseball in the state to females. Handler spent more than 22 years in the state high court as judge. He was then appointed to the New Jersey Supreme Court by Gov. Brendan T. Byrne and served on bench from 1977 to 1999 as the justice. He worked under then- Chief Justice Robert N. Wilentz. He was born on July 20, 1931 in Newark. He had earned a degree of law from Harvard Law School in 1956.
Current Chief Justice Stuart Rabner said by paying tribute to him, “The Judiciary today mourns the loss of Associate Justice Alan B. Handler. Justice Handler is a legendary figure in the history of the New Jersey Supreme Court, where he served from 1977 to 1999. His scholarly opinions on the common law, education, free speech, search and seizure, ethics, the role of state constitutional law as an independent source for protecting individual rights, among other subjects, remain an important influence on the Court’s jurisprudence and will continue to live on.” Rabner added, “Justice Handler was also a warm friend and source of wise counsel to many. We extend our deepest condolences to his family at this challenging time.”
Handler has also served as Attorney General from 1961 to 1964 before taking the bench and at that time he was the first assistant attorney general till 1968. He was then appointed to the Appellate Division from 1973 to 1976 after serving on the New Jersey Superior Court from 1968 to 1963. He has also written majority opinion in National Organization of Woman v. Little League baseball in 1974.
The late Supreme Court Justice Daniel J. O’ Hern wrote, “Every great court needs a cleanup hitter, someone strong, someone certain, someone upon whom others can safely rely to come through at crucial moments. That was Justice Handler’s role on the New Jersey Supreme Court.” Handler then joined Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer after leaving public service. He then got retired in 2016.