On Friday, July 25, 2025, Cherry Hill Courier-Post reported that Superior Court Judge Deborah Silverman Katz, Camden County’s top judge, will retire after serving over 17 years on the bench.
As the assignment judge for the Camden vicinage for 11 years, she holds the distinction of being New Jersey’s longest-serving current assignment judge, according to Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner.
Judge Silverman Katz’s departure paves the way for Superior Court Judge Steven J. Polansky to assume the role of assignment judge at the Camden courthouse starting September 1, 2025. Polansky, a judge for 13 years, has served as the presiding judge of the Camden vicinage’s civil division since 2018 and has experience in the criminal and family divisions.
Before his judicial career, Polansky practiced law privately in Cherry Hill, where he also served as a town councilman, council president, and school board member. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Temple University and a law degree from Syracuse University College of Law.
Silverman Katz’s retirement marks the second leadership transition in a South Jersey vicinage this year, following the retirement of Superior Court Judge Jeanne T. Covert in Burlington County.
Cook became the assignment judge for the Burlington vicinage in February 2025, succeeding Judge Covert. Cook, a judge for over 15 years, previously worked in the family and criminal divisions and was a supervisory trial attorney for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He holds degrees from Rutgers University, Temple University School of Law, and the University of Toledo College of Law.
Source: Cherry Hill Courier-Post
