West Orange’s Dawn Donohue was appointed a new West Orange municipal judge on Aug. 15. Above, Donohue joins her husband, James, as he is sworn in as an Essex County judge last September.
WEST ORANGE, NJ — Mayor Robert Parisi appointed a new West Orange municipal judge at the Aug. 15 Township Council meeting: Dawn Donohue. Donohue comes to West Orange from her position as the Union Township municipal prosecutor, where she had been since 2009. Prior to working in Union, Donohue was a criminal defense attorney for seven years, a public defender in Caldwell and an assistant in the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.
Donohue’s term as municipal judge officially starts Friday, Sept. 15, and will last three years, ending in September 2020.
“I’m sorry to say that in living in town for so long I only met Dawn last week,” Parisi joked while introducing Donohue to council members at the meeting. “We discovered that we’re practically neighbors.”
In a memo sent to the Township Council, Parisi wrote that Donohue “has an exemplary background, record and experience.”
Donohue came into the municipal judge position after hearing that there was an opening in the West Orange Court. After a recommendation from township attorney Richard Trenk, she decided to apply for the job. She has lived in West Orange for the last 27 years and knows the area well.
“I’ve lived here more than half my life now,” Donohue told the West Orange Chronicle in a phone interview on Aug. 22. “It’s where I raised my kids, so I think knowing the town is definitely an advantage.”
Donohue’s daughter, Caitlin, is a first-grade teacher in Montclair and her son, Brian, is a sophomore at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va.
The judgeship adds to Donohue’s workload as an adjunct professor at her nearby alma mater, Montclair State University, where she teaches four classes each semester, including “Intro to Criminal Law” and “Intro to Law.”
“I think it gives me a more well-rounded perspective,” Donohue said about teaching law classes to undergraduate students. “It’s almost re-teaching me because, as I plan for classes and teach, I’m relearning myself.”
West Orange’s municipal court handles local law, such as DWI violations, town ordinances and taxes. Donohue said that since being in the municipal setting is often someone’s first time in a court setting, she wants to make sure her role is fair, but not frightening.
“It can be intimidating,” Donohue said. “For most people, it’s their first experience in the court. I’m definitely committed to being fair and honest, but not to put too much pressure on others.”
The several different areas of law in which she has worked has given Donohue the experience she needs to be an effective judge while also providing her with invaluable knowledge and practice, she said.
“I think it gives me a more well-rounded perspective,” she said. “I’ve worked in different places and seen how other things work.”
After 18 years working as a lawyer, Donohue is excited to be sitting on the other side of the gavel.
“This is a dream come true for me, I’m really excited about it,” she said. “I’m so excited to be serving the community.”
And Donohue’s family members are no stranger to having a judge among them — her husband, James, was sworn in as a judge in the Essex County court system last September.
“When that happened, we were pretty content having one judge in the family,” she said, ”so it’s exciting now that it’s happening to me.”
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