The Hon. Dr. Michael F. Rehill, D. D.
The Hon. Dr. Michael F. Rehill, a retired New Jersey Muncipal Court Judge, has been practicing law in New Jersey since 1972. He is admitted to the Bars of the State of New Jersey, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court. He has appeared in 18 Federal jurisdictions and both the Supreme Court of New Jersey and the United States Supreme Court. He received mediation training from the New Jersey Association of Professional Mediators. He is a member of the American Bar Association (Dispute Resolution Section), the New Jersey State Bar Association (Dispute Resolution Section), and the New Jersey Association of Professional Mediators.
A graduate of Wesleyan University (B.A.) and New York Law School (J.D., magna cum laude), Judge Rehill is a nationally recognized expert in church and canon law, both secular and canonical. He holds a D.D., Doctor of Divinity honoris causa, Docteur en Divinite, from l’Universite’ Episcopale d’Haiti, the Episcopal University of Haiti.
He spent more than two decades as a Chancellor in the Episcopal Church. In the Diocese of Newark he holds the title of Chancellor Emeritus, which was given to him in 2002 after 18 years of service as Chancellor (from 1991 through 2002) and as Vice Chancellor (1984-1991). He also served as Chancellor of Province II of the Episcopal Church from 1993 through 1999. He served as Church Attorney in the Diocese of Long Island from 2006 through 2008. He served as Chancellor of the Diocese of Pennsylvania from 2007 through 2010. For ten years he also represented the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the United States of America. He is a member of the Ecclesiastical Law Socirty (U.K.).
Judge Rehill retired in 2012 as the President of Province II, a position he had held since 2006 after serving as Vice President of the Province for seven years. He was a member of the Provincial Leadership Conference from 1999 through 2011. He was also a Trustee of the Diocese of Newark from 1988 through 2009.
He was a seven-time Deputy to General Convention dating back to 1985, and he has served at General Convention on the Committee on the Constitution, the Committee on Canons, and the Nominating Committee for the Election of the Presiding Bishop.
Judge Rehill has extensive knowledge of the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church and he has unparalleled experience in representing both Bishops and Priests, including those charged with canonical offenses. He successfully defended The Rt. Rev. John Shelby Spong in 1988 (dismissed by Board of Inquiry) and The Rt. Rev. Walter Righter in the heresy case, Stanton v. Righter, Court for the Trial of a Bishop (Acquitted, 1996). He represented The Rt. Rev. Richard Shimpfky (Diocese of El Camino Real) and The Rt. Rev. Joe Morris Doss (Diocese of New Jersey) in connection with the termination of their service as Bishops Diocesan. During 2014 and 2015, he also served as counsel to the Chief Operating Officer of The Episcopal Church, The Rt. Rev. Stacy F. Sauls. He currently represents The Rt. Rev. Jean-Zache Duracin’, the Bishop of Haiti.
Judge Rehill is available to consult on matters involving clergy rights, canon law, and ecclesiastical discipline under Title IV of the Canons of The Episcopal Church.