10/12/2026
Justin T. Loughry, Esq. of Haddonfield, New Jersey died on September 29, 2026, at the age of 71.
Justin was the devoted husband of Leah McGarry Morris; beloved father of Nora Loughry; cherished stepfather to Benjamin and Lindsay Morris; delighted step grandfather of Ellie Tucker - Morris; dear brother of Daniel Loughry and his wife Lois Loughry; dear brother of the late Kevin Loughry and his wife the late Judy Loughry; loving uncle to Kristin and Kevin Loughry; and treasured brother – in - law of Marc McGarry and Susan Goldschied.
Justin was a generous, compassionate, profoundly loving and courageous man. He always tried to see the good in others and to pour his energy into advocating for justice for all, both as a professional and as an individual. Gentle, gallant and witty, he was a moral compass for many.
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, after attending Malden Catholic High School (Malden, Massachusetts), where he learned to become a gifted public speaker, he graduated from Williams College (B.A., magna cm laude and Phi Beta Kappa, 1978). During college he spent 3 semesters studying away at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, where he lived in a Catholic Worker house that sponsored a soup kitchen, and began his lifelong commitment to helping others. He graduated from New York University Law School (J.D. cm laude,1981), where he was a Root - Tilden Scholar and a member of the Order of the Coif. He then clerked for two years for the Honorable John F. Gerry of the United States District Court of New Jersey in Camden, New Jersey, a city he grew to champion.
Justin practiced as a litigation associate at Montgomery, McCracken, et al. in Philadelphia, PA, as a New Jersey state public defender in Camden, NJ, and as a litigation associate and eventually as a partner at Tomar, Simonoff, et al. in Haddonfield, NJ. In 2000, he co-founded Loughry and Lindsay, LLC in Camden, NJ, and in his final years engaged in the sole practice of law.
He regularly appeared in state and federal courts in criminal and civil matters, and before administrative agencies and professional licensing boards. He was a New Jersey Certified Criminal Trial Attorney and was designated for many years as a “Super Lawyer” in criminal defense in New Jersey by the Thomson-Reuters Lawyers Rating Service. He was a President of the Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys of New Jersey (ACDL-NJ), a trustee of the Camden County Bar Association (CCBA), and a member of the Criminal Justice Act (CJA) Panel for the United States District Court of New Jersey. In 2008 he received a New Jersey State Bar Association Professional Lawyer of the Year Award, nominated by both the ACDL-NJ and the CCBA. In 2017, he received the ACDL-NJ’s Lawrence A. Whipple Memorial Award, which honors exemplary professionalism, dedication to and passion for the law.
A consummate advocate on both the trial and appellate levels, he was renowned for his oral and writing skills, as well as his professionalism. He handled a uniquely wide and varied caseload, and every client was equally significant to him. A highly respected attorney for those in need, he could be fierce and intrepid without offending.
Among his myriad cases, he was counsel in the 2009 New Jersey Supreme Court case of State v. Nunez-Valdez, which established that criminal defense counsel’s failure to give accurate advice on immigration consequences of a guilty plea constituted ineffective assistance of counsel under the New Jersey State Constitution. He was co-counsel in State v. Soto, which proved the existence of a de facto policy of racial profiling on the New Jersey Turnpike. In 2001, he received an American Civil Liberties Union Award for this work against discrimination. He was co-counsel in the 2014 New Jersey Supreme Court case of Gormley v. Wood El, which first recognized the substantive due process right to be free of state-created dangers. In the United States District Court in Camden, NJ. beginning in 1997 and for a number of years thereafter, he and several colleagues successfully challenged a pattern of excessive use of force during a lockdown at New Jersey's Bayside State Prison.
He taught as an Adjunct Instructor at Drexel University’s Thomas R. Kline School of Law and Rutgers-Camden Law School in the areas of professional responsibility-legal ethics, and criminal defense litigation strategy. He lectured on criminal practice, ethics, experts, and evidence in various continuing legal education programs. He was also qualified as an expert in civil litigation.
Justin’s personal life was equally important to him. He deeply appreciated friendship and loved literature, poetry, running and biking, music, art, nature, and the Spanish language. He was an extraordinarily loving partner for Leah and an ardently devoted parent to Nora, Ben, and Lindsay. His recipe for rice and beans was legendary, and he was an enthusiastic cheerleader for Philadelphia sports teams. He relished membership in the Salmon Falls Land Association in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, a small intentional co-housing community of like-minded people. He radiated kindness and grace, had a remarkable gift for finding meaning and connection everywhere, and embraced the paradox of being alive with all its joys and pain.
Justin's lifelong spiritual journey began with traditional childhood Catholicism and followed a path through Liberation Catholicism to Quakerism and in later years a contemplative framework of mindfulness meditation and contemporary wisdom teachings. He was a member of the Haddonfield Friends Meeting and an enthusiastic member of its Peace and Social Concerns Committee, with particular fondness for its efforts on behalf of prisoners, individuals re-entering society from incarceration, and the refugee community.
A Memorial Service for Justin Loughry open to all will be held on Saturday, November 7, 2026 at 1:30 P.M. at the Haddonfield Friends Meeting House, 47 Friends Ave., Haddonfield, NJ. For those who wish to attend the Memorial Service virtually, please use the following linK
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83203166146?pwd=rQC98sa6jd2LPk7xamXEnIbr8jo1Mj.1
Meeting ID: 832 0316 6146
Passcode: 123456
In lieu of flowers, charitable donations in Justin’s name may be made to the Haddonfield Friends Meeting earmarked for the Refugee Assistance Fund of its Peace and Social Concerns Committee, or to any other organization that supports social justice.
