| Andrew Napolitano | |
|---|---|
| Andrew Napolitano at CPAC in February 2010. | |
| Judge of the New Jersey Superior Court |
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| In office 1987–1995 |
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| Appointed by | Thomas Kean |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Andrew Paolo Napolitano June 6, 1950 Newark, New Jersey, United States |
| Alma mater | Princeton University Notre Dame Law School |
| Occupation | Judge Attorney Media Personality |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Website | Biography on FoxNews.com |
Andrew Paolo Napolitano (born June 6, 1950) is a former New Jersey Superior Court Judge and now a political and legal analyst for Fox News Channel. Napolitano started on the channel in 1998, and currently serves as the network's senior judicial analyst, commenting on legal news and trials. He also hosts the talk show Freedom Watch on Fox Business Channel.
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Napolitano was born in Newark, New Jersey. He is a graduate of Princeton University (he was a founding member of the Concerned Alumni of Princeton[1]) and Notre Dame Law School. Napolitano sat on the New Jersey bench from 1987 to 1995, becoming the state's youngest then-sitting Superior Court judge. He also served as an adjunct professor at Seton Hall University School of Law for 11 years. Napolitano resigned his judgeship in 1995 to pursue his writing and television career.
Prior to joining Fox as a news analyst, Napolitano was the presiding judge on the television show, Power of Attorney, in which people brought small-claims disputes to a televised courtroom. Differing from similar formats, the plaintiffs and defendants were represented, "pro bono," by famous attorneys. The show ran in syndication during the 2000–2001 season.
From 2006 to 2010, Napolitano co-hosted a talk radio show on Fox News Radio with Brian Kilmeade titled Brian and the Judge.
Napolitano hosts a libertarian talk show called Freedom Watch that airs daily, with new episodes on weekdays, on Fox Business Channel.[2] Frequent guests on Freedom Watch are Congressman Ron Paul, economist Peter Schiff, and Lew Rockwell. Napolitano has called himself the "Ayn Rand of Fox News" and has also promoted the works of Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman and Ludwig von Mises on his program. The show originally aired once a week on Wednesdays at 2:00 pm on Fox News' Strategy Room. On September 14, 2009 it became a show that airs three to four times a week. On June 12, 2010 it debuted as a weekly show on Fox Business.
Napolitano regularly substituted for television host Glenn Beck when Beck was absent from his program. After Beck announced he would be leaving Fox News, he asked Napolitano to replace him. [3]
In 2004, Napolitano wrote the book, Constitutional Chaos: What Happens When the Government Breaks its Own Laws, a criticism of the American justice system. In the National Review, former federal prosecutor and senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies[4] Andrew McCarthy noted that Napolitano had been a mid-level state judge and questioned Napolitano's knowledge of the federal Constitution, citing what according to McCarthy were numerous errors in Napolitano's writing on the subject.[5]
In 2006, his second book, The Constitution in Exile: How the Federal Government Has Seized Power by Rewriting the Supreme Law of the Land was published.
A third book, A Nation of Sheep, was released in October 2007.
In April 2009, Napolitano's fourth book, Dred Scott's Revenge: A Legal History of Race and Freedom in America, was released.
In March, 2010, Napolitano's fifth book was released: Lies the Government Told You: Myth, Power, and Deception in American History.
In October, 2011, Napolitano's sixth book was released: It is Dangerous to be Right When the Government is Wrong: The Case for Personal Freedom.
Napolitano is a pro-life libertarian, more commonly known as libertarian conservatism.[6]
Napolitano has called consumer advocate and frequent presidential candidate Ralph Nader a hero of his.[7]
Napolitano splits his time living in Manhattan and Sussex County, New Jersey where he owns a farm that produces maple syrup.[8]
Napolitano is not related to U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, whom he sometimes jokingly calls "Cousin Janet."