Madeline Cox Arleo

On November 21, 2014, President Barack Obama appointed Madeline Cox Arleo to serve as a United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey, where she currently serves in Newark, NJ. Prior to that, she served as a federal magistrate judge for fourteen years. She was the founding judge of the District’s reentry court, ReNew, which supports those recently released from long sentences of incarceration. In 2024, the Renew Court opened the first food pantry in a federal courthouse, “Danny’s Pantry,” named in honor of the son of her colleague, Judge Esther Salas. In October 2021, Chief Judge Roberts appointed her to serve on the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. Judge Arleo received her bachelor’s degree in English and Political Science from Rutgers College, Rutgers University, in New Brunswick, NJ, and her master’s degree from the Eagleton Institute of Politics (’86 GF). She graduated summa cum laude from Seton Hall University School of Law, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Law Review, received an excellent legal education, and made life-long friends. She was a law clerk to the Honorable Marie L. Garibaldi, New Jersey Supreme Court, from 1989-90. Prior to her appointment to the Bench, Judge Arleo was a litigation partner at Tompkins, McGuire, Wachenfeld & Barry in Newark, NJ. Before that, she was associated with the law firm of Clapp & Eisenberg in Newark, NJ. While in practice, she served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Seton Hall Law School and as Secretary to the District V-A Ethics Committee. Presently, Judge Arleo is an Advisor to the Historical Society of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey and to the Association of the Federal Bar for the District of New Jersey, and a former honorary gala chair for the New Jersey Women Lawyers Association. She served on the Board of Trustees of her alma mater, St. Dominic Academy, Jersey City, from 2006-2012, and presently serves on the Board of Trustees of its sister school, Mount St. Dominic Academy in Caldwell, New Jersey. She is a frequent speaker for continuing education seminars for various bar associations in New Jersey. She is proud to be part of the New Jersey federal family. Having been raised in Hudson County, Judge Arleo lives in Sea Girt, New Jersey, with her husband, Frank Arleo, and their beloved dog Millie. Their two children, Alexandra and Peter, are law students.