Booker, Menendez Applaud Confirmation of Karen M. Williams to U.S. District Court for New Jersey

Judge Williams is the first African-American federal judge confirmed by the Senate to sit in the Camden, New Jersey, courthouse

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) applauded the Senate’s confirmation of Karen M. Williams to the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.

“Judge Williams has had a long and distinguished legal career defending the rights of workers and has a deep understanding of the issues facing the people of New  Jersey,” said Senator Booker. “Judge Williams is eminently qualified to serve on the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, and I know that she will bring fairness, impartiality, and a commitment to applying justice equally to the federal bench. This is a historic confirmation—she is the first African-American federal judge confirmed by the Senate to sit in the federal courthouse in Camden, New Jersey. I am proud of her confirmation today.”

“Judge Karen M. Williams is a thoughtful and intelligent legal mind and her unique experience as a human resources professional, trial attorney, and magistrate judge make her eminently qualified to serve on the U.S. District Court of New Jersey,” said Senator Menendez. “I’m incredibly proud that she is the first Senate-confirmed African American and person of color to sit in the U.S. District courthouse in Camden, N.J.  I am confident that she will not only administer equal justice under the law, but serve the people of New Jersey with distinction. I thank President Biden for selecting a stellar nominee who reflects the values and diversity of the great state of New Jersey.”

Karen M. Williams has served as a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court in the District of New Jersey since 2009. Judge Williams also currently serves as an adjunct professor at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey.  Prior to her appointment, Judge Williams spent 17 years in private practice at Jasinski & Williams, P.C. in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Judge Williams’s work focused on employment law, including litigation in state and federal courts and before administrative bodies.  Judge Williams received her J.D. from the Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law in 1992 and her B.S. from the Pennsylvania State University in 1985.

Earlier this year, the Senate confirmed Julien Xavier Neals and Zahid Quraishi to the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. Booker delivered remarks on the Senate floor in support of Neals and Quraishi. And just last week, the Senate also confirmed Christine P. O’Hearn to that court. Williams is now the fourth judge confirmed for the District of New Jersey this year.

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.