Robert Morris

Robert Morris (1745 – June 2, 1815) was chief justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New Jersey and the United States District Court for the Western District of New Jersey. Education and career Born in 1745, in New Brunswick, Province of New Jersey, British America, Morris read law in 1770. He entered private practice in New Brunswick from 1770 to 1776. On September 6, 1776, by Joint Meeting of the New Jersey Legislature, Morris was appointed Clerk of Bergen County. On February 5, 1777, the Legislature named him Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey, the office once held by his father. On November 6, 1778 Morris resigned as Bergen County Clerk. He continued to serve as Chief Justice until his resignation from that office on May 25, 1779. He resumed private practice in New Brunswick from 1779 to 1790. Federal judicial service