Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Lisa Thornton Dies At 59

Lisa Thornton, a highly revered Monmouth County Assignment Judge, has died.

Passing details for Judge Lisa Thornton

Thornton died suddenly while traveling to New Jersey from Florida.

She was 59.

She was a highly respected jurist

The Long Branch native was a respected jurist who rose through the legal ranks through hard work and preserverance.

After graduating from Long Branch High School in 1982, Thornton attended Rutgers University, Douglass College, where she earned a bachelors degree. She then obtained a juris doctorate from Rutgers-Newark Law School while working for Prudential Financial. Upon graduating, she worked as a trial attorney for the company.

Thornton started her career as a jurist in 1999, as a municipal court judge in Neptune Township, after being appointed by then-Mayor Michael Beson.

She made history in 2014 after being appointed the first Black woman to serve as an assignment judge in Monmouth County. Thornton replaced retired Assignment Judge Lawrence Lawson. Gov. Jon Corzine nominated her to serve on the bench in 2008.

Thornton had served as an associate counsel to Corzine and then as chief of staff to two attorneys general, Stuart Rabner, now the chief justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court, and Anne Milgram, now the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration administrator.

She also served in the administration of Gov. James E. McGreevey as the special deputy commissioner of the Department of Banking and Insurance.

Aside from a respected jurist, Thornton was a beloved community member, whose family, church family, and friends loved tremendously.

She will be sorely missed.