COURT HOUSE — The Cape May County courts recently bade farewell to a long-serving jurist.

Judge Joseph Visalli hung up his robes May 1, retiring after 22 years on the Superior Court bench.

“Time really flew,” Visalli told the Herald regarding his distinguished career, which began in 1986. “It seems like just yesterday when I started.”

One of the reasons that time went so quickly for Visalli may have been because he was so darn busy.

Visalli was the only judge in the county’s Civil Division, which saw 5,406 incoming cases and resolved 5,169 cases between July 1 last year and March 31 this year, according to state court management statistics.

Visalli, 66, had been a civil court judge here since 1991. Originally filling the vacancy left by the 1985 death of Judge Charles Sandman, Visalli started in the Family Division from 1986-91 and then presided over criminal cases from 1989-91.

“Judge Visalli has been one of the hardest working, most dedicated and effective judges I have ever known; a real team player,” said Judge Valerie Armstrong, assignment judge for Vicinage I courts (Atlantic and Cape May counties).

“His commitment to our vicinage and the community we serve has been invaluable. We will truly miss his wealth of experience in the administration of justice. The courthouse will not be the same without him,” she said.

The judge was also busy prior to his appointment to the Superior Court by Gov. Tom Kean.

Visalli, who makes his home in Wildwood Crest, served as a municipal court judge in Wildwood, North Wildwood and West Wildwood in the early to mid 1980s and as solicitor for the Wildwood Planning Board from 1978-83 and Wildwood Crest Zoning Board from 1978-80.

He was also an assistant prosecutor for Cape May County from 1976-79 and worked as a private attorney throughout his career from the time he graduated Duquesne Law School in 1971 until he was appointed to the Superior Court.

Originally from South Philadelphia, Visalli received a bachelor’s degree from La Salle College in 1965 and served in the U.S. Army from 1965-68.

After this long and distinguished career, Visalli has mixed emotions on his retirement.

“I’m happy to be able to spend more time with my family,” he said.

He and his wife Jane have two daughters — Lauren, a registered nurse in San Diego, and Janine, who is a junior at Georgetown and writes a regular column for the Herald.

“But I’m going to miss the people I worked with and the work itself, which was always very rewarding,” he said. “My staff was so supportive and knowledgeable and the lawyers that appeared before me were always courteous and professional. It was a pleasure to work with them.”

When asked if he was finished with the legal life, Visalli told the Herald he wasn’t.

“I’m going to keep my hands in the law; maybe do some mediations,” he said. “If there are situations where I think I can help, I will.”

Atlantic County Judge Daryl F. Todd will be hearing this county’s civil cases in Vasalli’s absence. Todd was temporarily reassigned to the Cape May County courts on April 28 by state Chief Justice Stuart Rabner.

Howard Berchtold, the vicinage’s court administrator, hopes a permanent replacement will be assigned soon, he said.

Contact Hart at (609) 886-8600 Ext 35 or at: jhart@cmcherald.com