Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Meanor received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Rutgers University in 1952, and a Bachelor of Laws from Rutgers Law School in 1955.
Meanor was in private practice from 1956 to 1959, and again from 1960 to 1969, having worked as acting secretary to New Jersey Governor Robert B. Meyner in 1959 and 1960.
Meanor also taught as an adjunct professor of law at Fordham University from 1964 to 1968.
From 1969 to 1972, he was a Judge for the county court of Essex County, New Jersey, and then became a Judge for the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court until 1974.
[1] On May 8, 1974, President Richard Nixon nominated Meanor to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey vacated by Judge John Joseph Kitchen.