Hon. Christine O’Hearn

Christine Patricia O’Hearn (born June 26, 1969) is a lawyer serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.

Education and Career

O’Hearn graduated from Cherokee High School in 1987. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Delaware in 1990 and a Juris Doctor from the Temple University Beasley School of Law in 1993.

O’Hearn was an associate at the law firm of Brown & Connery LLP in Haddonfield, New Jersey from 1993 to 2000 and a partner from 2000 to 2021. From 2006 to 2007, O’Hearn was an adjunct professor at the Rutgers University School of Law. She is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

Federal Judicial Service

On April 29, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated O’Hearn to serve as a United States district judge for the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey to the seat vacated by Judge Robert B. Kugler. O’Hearn was recommended by Senator Robert Menendez. She received her judicial commission on October 22, 2021.

Notable Cases

• In 2007, she represented Gloucester County Institute of Technology against allegations that a teenage student had been abused by her swim coach for six years.
• In 2011, she defended Gloucester Township Public Schools against multiple claims of alleged pervasive and persistent racism.
• In 2012, O’Hearn defended the borough of Pine Hill, New Jersey, against allegations that an employee had been sexually harassed by the mayor.