Born in Neptune Township, New Jersey, Wigenton grew up with three brothers in a sports-oriented family headed by her pastor father.
[2] She graduated from Norfolk State University with her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1984 and later from The College of William & Mary Law School with a Juris Doctor in 1987.
She also served as the Public Defender for the City of Asbury Park, from 1989 until 1993[3] Wigenton was a United States magistrate judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey from 2000 to 2006.
The trial resulted in Auernheimer's conviction on two counts, but on April 11, 2014, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reversed the conviction for improper venue under the Sixth Amendment, holding that the online conduct of Auernheimer, a resident of Arkansas, did not have a sufficient nexus to New Jersey, where the trial was held.
[5] Wigenton was the presiding judge for the trial concerning the Fort Lee lane closure scandal known as Bridgegate.