A resident of Cranbury, NJ and receiving his J.D. degree from New York University in June 1963, Judge Hamlin then clerked for the Honorable David D. Furman of the Superior Court of New Jersey.
After his clerkship, Judge Hamlin began an active civil trial practice in tort, contract and land use matters. He was counsel to the East Brunswick Planning Board for four years. As a partner in the New Brunswick law firm of Hicks, Kuhlthau, Nagle and Hamlin (1967-1971), Judge Hamlin appeared in banking matters before the New Jersey Department of Banking and the United States Controller of Currency. In 1967, Judge Hamlin was appointed to lead the first public defender program in Middlesex County. He served as Deputy Public Defender in charge of that office from 1967 to 1971.
Judge Hamlin was appointed First Assistant Prosecutor of the Middlesex County in 1971. He led major investigations and personally tried high profile cases. In 1974, Governor Brendan Byrne appointed Judge Hamlin as Middlesex County Prosecutor, a position he held until 1978. During his term in office, he conducted major public corruption probes and supervised a large staff.
Appointed to the bench in 1978, Judge Hamlin served in the Superior Court of Middlesex County until his 1998 retirement. He sat in the Criminal and Civil Divisions; was Presiding Judge of the Civil Division; Presiding Judge of the Chancery Division; and served as the statewide Mass Tort Judge.
After retiring, Judge Hamlin was appointed Executive Director of the National Phen Fen settlement trust and developed his active and highly regarded ADR practice.
