The Trenton Times published the following article on April 25, 2013. To read the full article, click here.

Learning Center at Mercer County Criminal Courthouse is named after retired judge

By Jenna Pizzi/The Times of Trenton 
on April 25, 2013 at 6:55 PM, updated April 25, 2013 at 6:56 PM

TRENTON — When Linda Feinberg retired last year from her position as assignment judge, overseeing judicial operations in Mercer County, members of the judiciary staff searched high and low for the perfect gift.

The process took a while, but today they were finally able to unveil and dedicate the Linda R. Feinberg Learning Center on the fourth floor of the new Mercer County Criminal Courthouse.

Trial court administrator Sue Regan said that Feinberg always encouraged learning by the court staff, so it was fitting that the room where staff and judges will undergo educational training programs will bear her name.

“Each day there were lessons to be learned from Judge Feinberg,” Regan said.

Feinberg’s successor, Assignment Judge Mary C. Jacobson, as well as State Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner, court employees and attorneys packed the ceremony honoring the retired jurist.

“I hope that people who enter this room find it a place of learning,” Feinberg said, standing outside a glass door bearing her name.

Feinberg was the first female assignment judge in Mercer County and the second in the state. She served for six years on the bench as a municipal court judge before she was appointed to Superior Court in January 1992 by Gov. Jim Florio.

Feinberg ruled on several landmark cases, including ones dealing with same-sex marriage and the constitutionality of digital voting machines.

“She made the job look effortless and always does it with style,” Jacobson said.

While the county’s new criminal courthouse opened several months after Feinberg retired, Rabner said she left her mark on the building in many ways.

She pushed county officials to build a new courthouse for many years, arguing that the historic old courthouse was unsafe. When officials said they would consider renovating the 100-year-old building, Feinberg sent a strongly worded letter saying renovation “is simply not an option.”

“It is so fitting that we dedicate a part of this structure in her name,” Rabner said.

County Executive Brian Hughes, who was on the receiving end of the letter from Feinberg, said if it were not for her insistence there would not have been a new building.

Regan noted that the learning center is the biggest meeting room in the courthouse.

Contact Jenna Pizzi at jpizzi@njtimes.com or (609) 989-5717.