Madeline Cox Arleo was appointed to serve as a United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey, in November 2014.  Prior to that, she served as a federal magistrate judge for fourteen years. She is founding judge of the District’s reentry court known as “ ReNew” which supports those recently released from long sentences of incarceration.  In 2024, the Renew Court opened the first food pantry in a federal courthouse, “Danny’s Pantry,” named in honor of the slain son of her colleague, Judge Esther Salas.

In October 2021, Chief Judge Roberts appointed Judge Arleo to serve on the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation.  She is the first judge from the District of New Jersey to serve on the Panel.  Prior to her appointment, she presided over numerous MDLs, both as a District Judge and as a Magistrate Judge. 

Judge Arleo received her bachelor’s degree in English and Political Science from Rutgers College, Rutgers University, in New Brunswick, NJ, and her master’s degree from the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University. She graduated summa cum laude from Seton Hall University School of Law, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Law Review, received an excellent legal education and made life-long friends. She was a law clerk to the Honorable Marie L. Garibaldi, New Jersey Supreme Court from 1989-90.

Prior to her appointment to the bench, Judge Arleo was a litigation partner at Tompkins, McGuire, Wachenfeld & Barry in Newark, NJ. Before that, she was associated with the law firm of Clapp & Eisenberg, in Newark, NJ. While in practice, she served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Seton Hall Law School and as Secretary to the District V-A Ethics Committee.

Presently, Judge Arleo is an Advisor to the Historical Society of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey and to the Association of the Federal Bar for the District of New Jersey For many years, she served as honorary gala chair for the New Jersey Women Lawyers Association. She served on the Board of Trustees of her alma mater, St. Dominic Academy, Jersey City, from 2006-2012 and presently serves on the Board of Trustees of its sister school, Mount St. Dominic Academy in Caldwell, New Jersey. She is a frequent speaker for continuing legal education, for bar associations, and for educational institutions.  

Raised in Hudson County, Judge Arleo lives in Sea Girt, New Jersey with her husband, Frank Arleo, and their beloved dog Millie. Their two children, Alexandra and Peter, are recent law school graduates.