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 He may be only 36, but when Hany Mawla recently donned the robes of a Superior Court judge, colleagues said he was well-prepared to ascend the bench.
Mawla was sworn in Jan. 27, and is currently assigned to the Family Division in Hunterdon County, part of the vicinage that includes Somerset and Warren counties. He started hearing cases in March.
For New Jersey’s Arab-Americans, it marks another milestone. The son of Egyptian immigrants, he is the first Arab-American Muslim — or Muslim of any background — appointed to state Superior Court.
State court officials do not track such demographics, but members of the New Jersey chapter of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee hail him as the first, based on their research and that of other Arab and Muslim organizations.
His experience and demeanor were the key selling points when they lobbied for him.
“The fascinating thing in this particular case was the reception that we received,” said Salaheddin Mustafa, the organization’s president. “It was, ‘Yes, we know him. Yes, we’ve heard really good things about him.'"
New Jersey has more than 82,000 residents of Arab ancestry, according to U.S. Census figures.
“I think it’s good for the people of New Jersey to know that they’re going to have a bench that will more reflect the various cultures, religions and races of this state,” said John Paone Jr., who has known him about 10 years and is president-elect of the Middlesex County Bar Association. “This is a guy who made it on his merits, and I suppose if his name was Smith, we’d be talking about him in the same way.”
Arabs have called New Jersey home since 1870, said Mawla, who was the first chairman of state department’s New Jersey Arab-American Heritage Commission. “It’s important that Arabs be part of the civil and political discourse in New Jersey,” he said during an interview earlier this year.
He is currently the youngest sitting judge in Superior Court, said Tammy Kendig, a spokeswoman for the Administrative Office of the Courts. “Being this age puts you in a position where you’re not afraid to ask questions,” said the married father of two. “That’s not to say I don’t bring something to the bench.”
He is exactly what the system wants and needs,” said Mark Sobel, a co-managing partner who hired him at Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis in Woodbridge in 2003. The majority of his practice was matrimonial.
“He has the skill set to do the job and the desire to really make a positive difference in the people that appear before him who are obviously experiencing difficulties as they deal with significant issues as it relates to divorce, as it relates to custody, as it relates to child-rearing,” Sobel said.
Those who know Mawla said it’s clear a judgeship was his calling. Mawla said with a political science degree from Rutgers University, he had two potential paths: get a doctorate or a law degree. When he was a student at Seton Hall Law School, the bench became a goal, he said.
Since his admission to the bar in 1999, colleagues say he quickly distinguished himself. Mawla became a partner about five years ago, to the surprise of no one, including the man who hired him.
“Hany has a unique reputation in this sub-industry of the law of being extremely professional. Often times, these types of cases tend to get very personal, often highly emotionally charged,” Sobel said.
His experience extends beyond the courtroom and into the classroom. He was an adjunct professor in the Department of Political Science at Rutgers University was a member of the advisory board for the school’s Center for Middle East Studies. Friends don’t think his current post will be his last stop.
“Hany’s got the qualities and the characteristics to be a Supreme Court judge on the U.S. Supreme court,” Mustafa said. Mawla would rather it be someone from the New Jersey Muslim Lawyers Association.
“It’s not about me,” he said. “It’s about making sure more and more Arab-Americans participate in the discussion. In my view, the goal is really to get more people dedicated to government service.”
* NJ.com
* Photo Courtesy of Superior Couty, Somerset County
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