U.S. Senate Unanimously Confirms Westfield Resident for Appeals Court

The U.S. Senate Tuesday unanimously confirmed the nomination of Westfield resident Joseph Greenaway Jr. as a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Greenaway, a sitting U.S. district judge in New Jersey, was confirmed by a vote of 84-0, with 16 senators not voting. He was nominated to the appeals court by President Obama in June and unanimously confirmed by the judiciary committee. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) announced last week that a deal had been reached between Senate Democrats and Republicans to lift a hold that had been blocking Greenaway's nomination from coming to the floor.

Greenaway became a federal judge in 1996 following a nomination from President Clinton. Prior to joining the bench he was a corporate attorney for Johnson & Johnson and an assistant U.S. Attorney in Newark. Greenaway will fill the appeals court seat which was vacated four years ago when Samuel Alito became a Supreme Court justice.

The vote to confirm Greenaway marks the first vote cast in the Senate by U.S. Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.). Brown was sworn in last week to fill the seat formerly held by the late Sen. Edward Kennedy.

Greenaway was recently in the local news, administering the oath of office to Councilman Sam Della Fera last month. In addition to administering the oath, Greenaway delivered brief impromptu remarks discussing his friendship with Della Fera and kidding Mayor Andy Skibitsky for the mayor's tradition of having statewide figures swear him in.

Greenaway's nomination adds to Westfield's judicial traditions in the last few months. Former Councilman Jim Hely joined the state Superior Court in June and residents Thomas Walsh and Robert Kirsch were sworn into the state bench last month.