Robert B. Kugler will step down as a senior U.S. District Court judge later this month, bringing a close to a 32-year career on the bench.
The 73-year-old Kugler served as a federal magistrate judge for ten years before President George W. Bush nominated him to in August 2002 after Joseph Irenas stepped down for health reasons. The U.S. Senate confirmed him three months later in a voice vote.
He left the District Court in late 2018 to go on senior status; U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts appointed him to serve as a judge of the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. President Joe Biden nominated Christine O’Hearn, formerly of Brown & Connery, to succeed him in 2021; no federal judges from New Jersey were named during President Donald Trump’s administration.
He was the son of George F. Kugler, Jr., a former Brown & Connery partner who served as attorney general of New Jersey when his friend and fellow South Jerseyan, William Cahill, was governor. His wife had been a Superior Court judge and Camden County counsel.
Kugler served as an assistant Camden County prosecutor, and as a deputy attorney general while Brendan Byrne and Thomas Kean were governors. He has previously clerked for U.S. District Court Judge John Gerry. His brother, Pete, played in the NFL for eight seasons as a defensive end for the San Francisco 49ers.
He has not yet announced which law firm he is joining.