Federal judge dies after fall

CAMDEN - U.S. District Judge Joseph Irenas, who served in Camden since 1992, has died after a fall.

Irenas, 75, was a "brilliant" and "hardworking" jurist who presided over his courtroom long after reaching retirement age, Chief Judge Jerome B. Simandle said Tuesday.

The Princeton resident died Friday at Cooper University Hospital, Camden. He'd been taken there with severe head trauma from a fall at the courthouse last Wednesday morning.

"It's just a huge loss. It's a catastrophe," said Simandle, who noted Irenas continued to serve even as he battled kidney failure for the past 15 years.

"He received just about every award that a lawyer or judge can receive in New Jersey," Simandle said.

Among other honors, Irenas was the 2003 recipient of the Camden County Bar Association's Judge John F. Gerry Award, which recognized his "spirit and humanitarianism."

"He was a longtime member and good friend of the association," said Executive Director Laurence Pelletier. "He will be missed."

The Newark-born judge was a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School. Irenas worked with the Newark-based law firm of McCarter & English from 1966 until 1992, when he was confirmed as a federal judge. Irenas became a senior district judge in 2002.

"He was generous with his time, always taking on extra work," said Simandle, who also described Irenas as "very funny, even mischievous."

"He enjoyed the give-and-take of trial."

At the time of his death, Irenas was hearing a wrongful-death lawsuit brought by the survivors of Tracy Hottenstein, a Philadelphia area woman who died of exposure after a February 2009 polar bear plunge in Sea Isle City. That trial was moved Friday to U.S. District Judge Robert Kugler.

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About 200 cases pending before Irenas will be distributed to five other federal judges in the Camden courthouse.

"It's not a headache," Simandle said of the administrative chore. "It's really a privilege to make sure his cases are handled in the way he would have handled them. … The cases will move on, and we'll do our best."

Private services for Irenas on Sunday drew all but three of the law clerks who worked with the judge over 23 years, noted Simandle.

"The ones who couldn't make it were on international travel," he observed. "That tells you a lot."

A public memorial service is to be announced later for Irenas, who is survived by his wife, Nancy, and their grown children and grandchildren.

Jim Walsh: (856) 486-2646; jwalsh@gannettnj.com