The Hon. Philip J. Degnan is a judge for the Essex County Superior Court (Vicinage 5) in New Jersey. He was appointed to the bench by Governor Phil Murphy on January 13, 2020.
Prior to his appointment, Degnan was the Comptroller for the New Jersey Office of the State Comptroller, a position to which he was selected in 2015. During his tenure there, he spearheaded a Medicaid fraud amnesty program. Before that, he was the Executive Director of the New Jersey State Commission on Investigations, an organization that combats organized crime and public corruption (2011 to 2015).
Degnan earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Davidson College in 1992. He then completed a J.D. at Seton Hall Law School in 1996.
After graduating from law school, Degnan entered into private practice, working as an associate at Gibbons. Then, in 2004, he was selected to serve as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey. He held assignments in the public protection and national security units, prosecuting child exploitation, drug trafficking, weapons crimes, and immigration offenses.
A resident of Morris County, Degnan resides in Chatham with his family. His father, John Degnan, served as New Jersey Attorney General and Chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
He is registered as a Democrat.