Noriega worked as an assistant deputy public defender in Essex County for five years, leaving in 2008.[3] Noriega practiced immigration and criminal law for six years while he ran his own law firm, Noriega & Associates in Newark. He provided pro bono counsel to the organization Kids in Need of Defense, representing indigent, underage clients who have been subject to human trafficking and are facing removal proceedings.[7] He is formerly a partner at Bramnick, Rodriguez, Grabas, Arnold, and Mangan in Scotch Plains,[4] where he specialized in immigration and criminal law.[8] He was an adjunct professor at the Seton Hall School of Law for eight years.[9] As of 2023, Noriega was an active member of the New Jersey State Bar Association and served as chair of the Immigration Law Section.[3]
Supreme Court of New Jersey
On May 15, 2023, Governor Phil Murphy announced his intent to nominate Noriega to serve as a justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey. He would fill the vacancy left by the mandatory retirement of Justice Barry T. Albin, who retired on July 6, 2022.[4][5] Since Albin's retirement, the seat had been temporarily filled by New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division judge Jack M. Sabatino. In June 2023, it was reported Noriega had acquired enough votes to be confirmed, with 19 senators stating their intent to vote in favor of his confirmation.[10] On June 26, 2023, a hearing was held on his nomination.[11] Later that day, his nomination was advanced out of the judiciary committee.[12] He was confirmed on June 30, 2023 by a 37–0 vote.[13][14] He was sworn into office on July 6, 2023.[15] He is the first public defender to ever serve on the Supreme Court.[2] He is the third Hispanic on the New Jersey Supreme Court and the first since Justice Faustino J. Fernandez-Vina retired.[5] Following Noriega's confirmation, Sabatino returned to the Appellate Division.
