N.J. Admin. Code § Executive Order No. 359 (2024)
An Order Directing that the Flag of the United States of America and the Flag of New Jersey Shall Be Flown at Half-Staff at All State Departments, Offices, Agencies, and Instrumentalities During Appropriate Hours on Friday, May 31, 2024, in Recognition and Mourning of an Extraordinary Associate Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court, Justice Alan Handler
Issued: May 30, 2024.
Effective: May 30, 2024.
WHEREAS, Justice Alan Brodkin Handler was born on July 20, 1931 in Newark, New Jersey, to Charles and Ida Handler; and
WHEREAS, Justice Handler was raised in Newark and attended Newark Academy; and
WHEREAS, Justice Handler enrolled at Princeton University, graduating magna cum laude in 1953 and receiving a degree at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs; and his life to public service, beginning with his service as a Deputy Attorney General from 1961 to 1964 and as First Assistant Attorney General from 1964 to 1968; and
WHEREAS, Justice Handler was appointed as a Judge of the Superior Court in 1968 and served there until 1976, including service in the Appellate Division from 1973 to 1976, where he notably joined a historic opinion allowing girls to play Little League baseball; and
WHEREAS, Justice Handler resigned from the Superior Court in 1976 to serve as chief counsel to Governor Brendan Byrne; and
WHEREAS, Justice Handler was appointed by Governor Byrne to serve as an Associate Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court in 1977, and was reappointed by Governor Tom Kean in 1984; and
WHEREAS, Justice Handler served on the Supreme Court for 22 years before his retirement in 1999; and
WHEREAS, through the nearly 300 opinions that he authored while on the Supreme Court, Justice Handler stood out as an intellectual leader and his decisions shaped jurisprudence not only in New Jersey but also across the country, including on the topic of state constitutional law as an independent source for protecting individual rights; and
WHEREAS, Justice Handler's landmark opinions included the first New Jersey Supreme Court decision in Abbott v. Burke, which launched a sea change in the distribution of school funding in New Jersey, and multiple decisions regarding the constitutional underpinnings of the State's appropriations process; and
WHEREAS, Justice Handler authored or joined many other significant decisions during his judicial tenure, including decisions involving affordable housing, privacy, transgender rights, and the death penalty; and
WHEREAS, Justice Handler's service made our State a fairer and more just place for all of our residents; and
WHEREAS, apart from his brilliance as a jurist, Justice Handler was beloved by his colleagues for his sense of humor, curiosity, and tenacity; and
WHEREAS, Justice Handler was a loving husband to his late wife Rose, father to his daughters Nancy, Carolyn, and Julia, and stepfather to Kara and Sean Foxe; and
WHEREAS, Justice Handler passed away on May 23, 2024 at the age of 92; and
WHEREAS, Justice Handler will be missed by his family, friends, former colleagues, and all New Jerseyans; and WHEREAS, it is appropriate to honor the life, legacy, and many accomplishments of Justice Handler, and to mark his passing;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, PHILIP D. MURPHY, Governor of the State of New Jersey, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and by the Statutes of this State, do hereby ORDER and DIRECT:
N.J. Admin. Code Executive Order No. 359 (2024)