[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 53 (Tuesday, April 12, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E697]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE JOSEPH A. FALCONE

                                  _____
                                 

                        HON. BILL PASCRELL, JR.

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 12, 2011

  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I would like to call to your attention the 
work of a great man, Hon. Joseph A. Falcone, who is retiring after 
twenty-five years on the bench from his position in the trial courts of 
his home county of Passaic, New Jersey. He will be honored on April 12, 
2011 by his friends and colleagues for his service to his profession 
and his community.
  It is only fitting that he be honored in this, the permanent record 
of the greatest freely elected body on earth, for he has a long history 
of dedication, commitment and integrity.
  Judge Joseph A. Falcone was born in Newark, New Jersey and is a 
product of that city's public school system. He received a B.A. degree 
from Rutgers University and went on to receive his J.D. degree from 
Rutgers-Camden School of Law in 1968. Judge Falcone commenced his legal 
career as a law secretary before being admitted to the Bar on November 
27, 1968.
  In September 1969, Judge Falcone was sworn in as an assistant Essex 
County prosecutor. He served in the appellate and trial section and as 
the Deputy Director of the City Council Organized Crime Strike Force. 
In September 1975, the judge was sworn in as the First Assistant 
Prosecutor for Passaic County. That same month he was admitted to 
practice before the United States Supreme Court.
  On April 2, 1990, Judge Falcone was given the task of reorganizing 
the criminal justice system in Essex County. It had been described as 
``one of the slowest and least efficient of any urban county in the 
United States'' by the National Center for State Courts. The 
reorganization was an overwhelming success. Five years later, the 
Justice Management Institute's report said, ``Essex County, New Jersey 
is the scene of one of the most dramatic improvements in the handling 
of serious criminal cases that has taken place anywhere in the United 
States in the past thirty years.'' The feature article described Judge 
Falcone as ``the management wizard of the New Jersey judiciary.'' He 
was asked to ``repeat the miracle in Passaic County'' where he had been 
transferred in May 1996 to serve as the Presiding Judge of the Criminal 
Division. On October 3, 1996, Judge Falcone was appointed to serve as 
the assignment judge for the vicinage.
  During this time he authorized the creation of the, Village 
Initiative, which was highly acclaimed. He also addressed and reduced 
criminal court backlogs and increased efficiency in the court system. A 
Herald News article of August 1997 noted that Judge Falcone had ``made 
the criminal court system in Passaic County a trim and responsive 
operation.'' In 1999, Judge Falcone assumed the position of Assignment 
Judge for the Essex Vicinage and again made his mandate to reduce 
backlogs and improve the efficiency of court operations. During his 
five-year tenure, both goals were achieved.
  While serving as the Assignment Judge in the Essex Vicinage, two 
significant pilot programs were developed and implemented after 
approval by the Supreme Court; the Greater Newark Safer Cities 
Initiative and the License Reinstatement Program. In addition, he 
authored In re Fire at Seton Hall University, 368 N.J.Super. 269 (Law 
Div. 2003), a mini-treatise on grand jury practice and procedure, which 
in connection with the Seton Hall fire case, he approved publication of 
a Grand Jury Presentment, which led to legislation making it mandatory 
for residential colleges to install fire sprinklers.
  From August 1, 2004 to August 31, 2005, Judge Falcone served the 
Appellate Division. In 2004, he was elected to the Fellows of the 
American Bar Foundation and inducted into the Newark Athletic Hall of 
Fame. For many years of his twenty-five years on the bench, Judge 
Falcone served on the Model Criminal Jury Charges Committee as a member 
and Chair of the Conference of Criminal Presiding Judges, Chair of the 
Bail Forfeiture Judges Committee, Chair of the Judicial Council's IT 
Steering Committee, and a member of and in the 2003-2004 the Chair of 
the Judicial Council.
  Since September 2005, Judge Falcone has been assigned to the trial 
courts; first in the Morris/Sussex Vicinage, and since September 2007 
in his home county of Passaic. Judge Falcone resides in Wayne, NJ with 
Beverly, his wife and best friend for over thirty-two years, and their 
daughter Larissa.
  The job of a United States Congressman involves much that is 
rewarding, yet nothing compares to recognizing the accomplishments of 
community leaders like Judge Falcone.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that you join our colleagues, Judge Falcone's 
family, friends and everyone he has worked with throughout the years 
and me in recognizing the outstanding and invaluable achievements of 
the Honorable Joseph A. Falcone.

                          ____________________