Justice Fernandez-Vina was born on February 15, 1952, in Santiago, Cuba. His family escaped persecution by the communist government led by Fidel Castro as a young boy, eventually settling in South Jersey. He attended Haddon Heights High School, playing football for an undefeated team that went on to win a state championship his senior year. He went on to college at Widener University to play for a powerhouse college football program and was the co-captain of the 1973 team that featured running back and NFL Hall of Fame inductee Billy “White Shoes” Johnson and NFL All-Pro center Joseph Fields.

Upon graduating from Widener with a degree in history, Justice Fernandez-Vina attended Rutgers University School of Law-Camden and graduated in 1978. Before entering private practice, he served as a law clerk to Superior Court Judge E. Stevenson Fluharty. 

During his first tenure in private practice, Justice Fernandez-Vina became a certified civil trial attorney and served on the District IV Ethics Committee, the Supreme Court Committee on Character and the Supreme Court Committee on Jury Selection. In 2004, then Governor James McGreevey appointed Justice Fernandez-Vina to the Superior Court bench. He was the first Latino nominated to the Superior Court from Camden County and sat in the civil division of the Camden Vicinage. He moved to the family division in 2006 and was named presiding judge of the civil division on February 1, 2007. Chief Justice Stuart Rabner named him assignment judge of the Camden Vicinage on January 11, 2012.

While on the bench, Justice Fernandez-Vina served on a number of committees, including the Supreme Court Ad Hoc Committee on the Code of Judicial Conduct and the Supreme Court Civil Practice Committee. Justice Fernandez-Vina was nominated to the Supreme Court by Governor Chris Christie on September 30, 2013, and was sworn into office on November 19, 2013, following confirmation by the state Senate. He continued to serve as an associate justice on the New Jersey Supreme Court from November 2013, until he retired in February 2022, at the mandatory retirement age of 70. Justice Fernandez-Vina is currently practicing law with the law firm of Parker McCay.