New Jersey District Court Judge Selected for Top Alumni Award at Rutgers-Camden Law School

For Immediate Release

CAMDEN --  The Hon. Robert B. Kugler, a U.S. District Court judge for the District of New Jersey, has been selected to receive the 2008 Arthur E. Armitage Sr. Distinguished Alumni Award from the Rutgers-Camden Law Alumni Association.

The award, which is the top honor presented annually to graduates of the Rutgers School of Law—Camden, will be bestowed during a special ceremony on the Rutgers-Camden campus on Thursday, May 29.

Kugler was recognized for “making significant contributions to the profession.”  The alumni selection committee also considered the following criteria when making its decision:  that the recipient be highly regarded, active in civic or professional programs, and entrusted with a responsible position, in or out of the legal profession.

In 2002, President George W. Bush nominated Kugler to become U.S. District Court judge in the District of New Jersey.  The U.S. Senate confirmed him later that year.  He previously served as a U.S. Magistrate Judge. 

In 1997, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist appointed Kugler to the Judicial Conference of the U.S. Committee on the Administrative Office of the United States Courts.  In 2003, the Chief Justice named Kugler as chair of that committee.  Chief Justice John Roberts extended the appointment through 2006.

Kugler has served as a member and as chair of the District IIIB Ethics Committee for the New Jersey Supreme Court.  He earned designation as a Certified Civil Trial Attorney and Certified Criminal Trial Attorney, both from the New Jersey Supreme Court.

A resident of Cherry Hill, Kugler received his Juris Doctor degree from the Rutgers School of Law—Camden in 1978.  He is a 1975 summa cum laude graduate of Syracuse University.

Kugler will receive his award during a special ceremony at the Rutgers-Camden law school during 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, May 29.  To register, visit camlaw.rutgers.edu/alumni or contact Terry McCuen at (856) 225-6180. 

Established in 1983, the alumni award is a memorial to Arthur E. Armitage Sr. who, with a group of interested citizens, founded both the South Jersey Law School in 1926 and its companion College of South Jersey in 1927.  In 1950, the Camden campus became affiliated with Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

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