Morris Stern, a judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey in Newark since 2001, died Feb. 12 at the age of 72.

Stern had been battling liver cancer for the past 21 months but continued working in chambers until about three weeks before his death. After that, he worked at home and wrote his final opinion two days before his death, says U.S. Bankruptcy Court clerk James Waldron.