Senior U.S. District Judge Joseph Irenas of the District of New Jersey passed away on October 16, 2015 at age 75.

Joseph was born in Newark, graduated from Princeton University and Harvard Law School.

He clerked for New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Haydn Proctor and then worked at the law firm McCarter & English from 1966 until he was confirmed as a federal judge in 1992.

Joseph lost his balance and suffered a head injury in the court’s garage when he arrived at work the morning of October 14, said Chief Judge Jerome Simandle of the District of New Jersey.

He underwent neurosurgery to relieve bleeding on the brain, but lapsed into a coma, and died at 6 p.m. on October 16, 2015, Simandle said.