Kapalko sworn in as
Superior Court judge
FARRAH MAFFAI Paul A. Kapalko takes the oath of office to become a judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey on a Bible held by daughters Casey and Christina at the Monmouth County Courthouse in Freehold Jan. 4.
In the third and final such ceremony held in Freehold over the past month, Paul A. Kapalko, a resident of West Long Branch, was sworn in last week as a judge of the Superior Court.
The elevation to the bench of Kapalko, who had been director and chief judge of the N.J. Division of Workers’ Compensation, increases the number of judges in Freehold to 28 and provides some relief to chronic complaints from lawyers of case overloads and court delays.
Two other lawyers from Monmouth County were sworn in earlier in December as Superior Court judges — Ronald L. Reisner of Oceanport and Thomas F. Scully of Fair Haven. All three were nominated by former acting Gov. Donald T. DiFrancesco and approved by the state Senate.
Kapalko’s swearing-in brought a large turnout of his colleagues from Workers’ Compensation court and the state Department of Labor to wish him well, including Labor Commissioner Mark B. Boyd. Workers’ Compensation court falls under the wing of the state Labor Department.
Boyd, in addressing the crowd of well-wishers on hand in the jury assembly room of the Monmouth County Courthouse Jan. 4, said he has had an opportunity to work with many wonderful people at the Department of Labor, many of whom were present there.
"We all know Paul," he said. "I have never known a more committed, devoted professional — a man you can turn to on any subject. They have put a perfect person in a critical spot."
Before Boyd spoke, Kapalko, a graduate of Rutgers College and Seton Hall University School of Law, was presented with his judicial robe by Renee C. Ricciardelli, acting director and chief judge of the Division of Workers’ Compensation. He was then helped into the robe by his mother, Rose Kapalko, and his father-in-law, Joseph L. Knipper.
Kapalko’s children, Casey and Christina, held the Bible on which he placed his hand as he took the oath of office, administered by Superior Court Judge Lawrence M. Lawson, the Monmouth County assignment judge and Kapalko’s former law partner. He and Kapalko, a former Asbury Park councilman, used to practice together from an office on Mattison Avenue in Asbury Park. Kapalko also served as a state Assemblyman for a year and ran, unsuccessfully, for election to Congress.
Kapalko was first appointed a judge of compensation in 1992 and served in Middlesex, Essex and Monmouth counties. He was named director and chief judge of workers’ compensation in 1994, a post he held until his appointment as a Superior Court judge.
Joan Mott, former administrative supervisory judge of the Division of Workers’ Compensation, allowed as how she had some doubts about the elevation of Kapalko to director and chief judge of the Division of Workers’ Compensation only two years after joining that court.
"Then I met Mary Jo," she said, referring to Kapalko’s wife, "and that gave me some hope."
She said that "obviously someone who chooses so wisely" in a spouse had good judgment.
"He has been the most effective director of the division in my more than 30 years in the division," Mott said. She said his accomplishments in the division included upgrading the computer system, which has since been recognized nationally, and improving the workplace.
When Kapalko took the podium, it was to thank everyone who had helped him along the way.
He had particular thanks for his wife, who, he noted, heads the Academy Charter High School, and a tribute to his daughters, about whom he said, "You make even the toughest days a joy."
Kapalko also spoke glowingly of his colleagues in Workers’ Compensation Court.
"The men and women who serve as judges of compensation are some of the finest jurists anywhere," he asserted.

