Lori Grifa | |
|---|---|
| Appointed by | Chris Christie |
| Succeeded by | Rich Constable |
| Commissioner of theNew Jersey Department of Community Affairs | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Lori Grifa |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | Rutgers University Boston College School of Law |
Lori Grifa is a judge of the Superior Court of the State of New Jersey, assigned to the Criminal Division of the Essex County vicinage. She was nominated by GovernorPhil Murphy to the position on December 13, 2021 and confirmed by the New Jersey Senate on January 10, 2022.
Prior being appointed to the bench, Grifa was an attorney in private practice and a partner at Archer & Greiner, PC. She was formerly a partner at Wolff & Samson, PC, a law firm founded by former NJ Attorney General David Samson. Grifa served as Commissioner of theNew Jersey Department of Community Affairs in 2010 to 2012 during thegovernorship of Chris Christie.[1][2]
Raised inToms River, New Jersey,[3] Grifa graduated fromToms River High School East in 1981.[4] In 1985, she earned her BA cum laude, fromRutgers University, where she was a Henry Rutgers Thesis Scholar and member ofPhi Beta Kappa. Grifa graduated from theBoston College School of Law in 1988, and served as law clerk to JudgeElbert Tuttle of theMassachusetts Superior Court. She is a member of the Bar in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia.
She was a special assistant district attorney in the Homicide Investigation Unit of theNew York County District Attorney's Office for two years and was a senior assistant district attorney in the Office of theBrooklyn District Attorney inNew York City. from 1989 to 1997, where she specialized in homicide and gang-related prosecutions.[5][6]
From 2002 to 2003, Grifa served as chief of staff toNew Jersey Attorney GeneralDavid Samson. In that capacity, she was responsible for managing theNew Jersey Department of Law & Public Safety.[5][6]
Grifa was appointed by the chief justice of theNew Jersey Supreme Court to the Committee for Women and the Courts and the State Domestic Violence Working Group as District V-A Attorney Ethics Committee, on which served a four-year term from 2008 to 2012.[5][6]
Grifa served in Governor Chris Christie's Cabinet as the commissioner of theNew Jersey Department of Community Affairs from 2010 until her resignation on January 2, 2012.[8] During her tenure, she also chaired theNew Jersey Meadowlands Commission, theNew Jersey Redevelopment Agency, the New JerseyCouncil on Affordable Housing and theNew Jersey Housing Mortgage Finance Agency.[6]