Judge Leonard I. Garth died last week at age 95. Born in Brooklyn on April 27, 1921, he went to college at Columbia and got his law degree at Harvard. In between, he served as a lieutenant in the United States Army. After law school, the future Judge Garth was one of the founders of a law firm in Paterson that has evolved into the Hackensack firm now known as Cole Schotz.
President Nixon appointed Judge Garth to the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey in 1969. He took the bench in 1970. In 1973, President Nixon elevated Judge Garth to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, where he has sat ever since. He took senior status in 1986 but continued to sit on panels until two years ago. Even then, Judge Garth continued to decide motions.
A quick Lexis search reveals well over 1,000 Third Circuit opinions in which Judge Garth participated, and over 50 District Court opinions. A judge with such longevity necessarily makes his or her mark on the law. So it has been with Judge Garth.