William J. Martini

William John Martini (born February 10, 1947) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, having been in active service from November 14, 2002, to February 10, 2015. Martini is one of twenty-four judges seated on the New Jersey District Court, and his highest profile case to date was the corruption trial for former Newark Mayor Sharpe James. Before his judicial service, Martini was a Republican Party politician who represented New Jersey's 8th congressional district in the House of Representatives, where he served from January 3, 1995 – January 3, 1997. Early life and career Born in Passaic, New Jersey, Martini graduated from Passaic High School. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Villanova University in Philadelphia, and received his Juris Doctor from Rutgers School of Law—Newark in 1972. Martini started his career as an assistant in the Hudson County prosecutor's office in 1973. The following year, he was named an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey, and served in that post until 1977. He went into private practice after that.