 | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | New Jersey |
| Headquarters | Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex, 25 Market Street,Trenton, New Jersey |
| Agency executive |
|
| Parent agency | State of New Jersey |
| Website | Official website |
Theattorney general of New Jersey is a member of theexecutive cabinet of the state and oversees theDepartment of Law and Public Safety. The office is appointed by thegovernor of New Jersey, confirmed by theNew Jersey Senate, and term limited. Under the provisions of theNew Jersey State Constitution, the Attorney General serves a concurrent term to the governor (starting on the third Tuesday of January following the election and ending on the third Tuesday following the next election). Matt Platkin became the acting officeholder on February 14, 2022, following his nomination by Governor Phil Murphy.
The conventional wisdom is that the attorney general cannot be removed from office except "for cause" by the governor or by way of legislative impeachment.[1]
It is fourth in theline of succession after thelieutenant governor of New Jersey, president of theNew Jersey Senate, and speaker of theNew Jersey General Assembly. The attorney general cannot also serve as the lieutenant governor.
Holders of the office of attorney general include:[2]
| Term of office | Attorney General | Notes and references |
|---|---|---|
| 1704 –1714 | Alexander Griffith | Alexander Griffith was the first Colonial New Jersey Attorney General. |
| 1714 –1719 | Thomas Burnett Gordon | (17 April 1652—April 28, 1722) was a Scottish emigrant to theThirteen Colonies who became Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court and New Jersey Attorney General for the Province of New Jersey.[3] |
| 1719 –1723 | Jeremiah Basse | (died 1725) was agovernor of bothWest Jersey andEast Jersey. He became governor of West Jersey in 1697, and became governor of East Jersey in 1697. |
| 1723 –1728 | James Alexander | (May 27, 1691 – April 2, 1756) was a lawyer and statesman incolonial New York. He served in the Colonial Assembly and as attorney general of the colony in 1721 –23. His sonWilliam was later a major general in theContinental Army during theAmerican revolution.Alexandria Township, New Jersey was named after James Alexander. |
| 1728 –1733 | Lawrence Smyth | |
| 1733 –1754 | Joseph Warrell | |
| 1754 –1776 | Cortlandt Skinner | (December 16, 1727 – March 15, 1799) was the last colonial attorney general of New Jersey and abrigadier general in theBritish Loyalist force, theNew Jersey Volunteers during theAmerican Revolutionary War.[4][5] |
| # | Picture | Attorney General | Term in office | Party affiliation | Appointed by | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | William Paterson[6](1745–1806) | 1776 – 1783 | Federalist | Elected by the legislature | |
| 2 |  | Joseph Bloomfield (1753–1823) | 1783 – 1792 | Anti-Administration | Elected by the legislature | |
| 3 | _portrait_(high_contrast).png) | Aaron Woodruff[7] | 1792 – 1811 | Federalist | Elected by the legislature | |
| 4 | Andrew S. Hunter | 1811 | Democratic-Republican | Elected by the legislature | ||
| 5 | | Aaron Woodruff[7] | 1812 – June 26, 1817 | Federalist | Elected by the legislature | |
| 6 |  | Theodore Frelinghuysen | February 6, 1817 – March 4, 1829 | Federalist | Elected by the legislature | |
| 7 |  | Samuel L. Southard[8] | 1829 – 1833 | National Republican | Elected by the legislature | |
| 8 | John Moore White | 1833 – 1838 | [data missing] | Elected by the legislature | ||
| 9 |  | Richard Stockton Field[9] | 1838 – 1841 | Republican | Elected by the legislature | |
| 10 | George P. Mollesson | 1841 – 1844 | [data missing] | Elected by the legislature | ||
| 11 | Richard P. Thompson | 1844 – 1845 | [data missing] | Daniel Haines | ||
| 12 |  | Abraham Browning | 1845 – 1850 | Democratic | ||
| 13 |  | Lucius Elmer[10] | 1850 – 1852 | Democratic | ||
| 14 | Richard P. Thompson | 1852 – 1857 | [data missing] | George Franklin Fort | ||
| 15 | .png) | William L. Dayton[11] | 1857 – 1861 | Republican | William A. Newell | |
| 16 |  | Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen[12] | 1861 – 1867 | Republican | Charles Smith Olden | |
| 17 |  | George M. Robeson[13] | 1867 – 1870 | Republican | Marcus Lawrence Ward | |
| 18 | Robert Gilchrist Jr. | 1870 – 1875 | Democratic | Theodore Fitz Randolph | ||
| 19 |  | Joel Parker[14] | 1875 | Democratic | Joseph D. Bedle | |
| 20 | Jacob Vanatta | 1875 – 1877 | [data missing] | |||
| 21 | .jpg) | John P. Stockton[15] | April 8, 1877 – April 5, 1897 | Democratic | ||
| 22 | Samuel H. Grey[16] | 1897 – 1902 | [data missing] | John W. Griggs | ||
| 23 | .jpg) | Thomas N. McCarter | 1902 – 1903 | Republican | Franklin Murphy | |
| 24 | _(cropped).png) | Robert H. McCarter | 1903 – 1908 | Republican | ||
| 25 |  | Edmund Wilson Sr. | 1908 – 1914 | Republican | John Franklin Fort | |
| 26 |  | John Wesley Wescott | 1914 – 1919 | Democratic | James F. Fielder | |
| 27 | Thomas F. McCran | 1919 – 1924 | Republican | Walter Evans Edge | ||
| 28 | Edward L. Katzenbach | 1924 – 1929 | [data missing] | George S. Silzer | ||
| 29 | William A. Stevens | 1929 – 1934 | [data missing] | Morgan F. Larson | ||
| 30 | David T. Wilentz | 1934 – 1944 | Democratic | A. Harry Moore | ||
| 31 | Walter D. Van Riper | 1944 – 1948 | Republican | Walter Evans Edge | ||
| 32 | Theodore D. Parsons | February 4, 1948 – 1954 | [data missing] | Alfred E. Driscoll | ||
| 33 | Grover C. Richman Jr. | 1954 – 1958 | [data missing] | Robert B. Meyner | ||
| 34 | David D. Furman | 1958 – 1962 | [data missing] | |||
| 35 | Arthur J. Sills | January 6, 1962 – 1970 | [data missing] | Richard J. Hughes | ||
| 36 | George Francis Kugler Jr. | 1970 – 1974 | [data missing] | William T. Cahill | ||
| 37 |  | William F. Hyland | 1974 – 1978 | Democratic | Brendan Byrne | |
| 38 | John J. Degnan | January 17, 1978 – March 5, 1981 | Democratic | |||
| 39 | James R. Zazzali | 1981 – 1982 | Democratic | |||
| 40 | Irwin I. Kimmelman | January 19, 1982 – January 21, 1986 | Republican | Thomas Kean | ||
| 41 | W. Cary Edwards | January 21, 1986 – January 19, 1989 | Republican | |||
| 42 | Peter N. Perretti Jr. | February 14, 1989 – January 16, 1990 | [data missing] | |||
| 43 | Robert Del Tufo | January 16, 1990 – August 24, 1994 | Democratic | Jim Florio | ||
| 44 | Deborah Portiz | January 18, 1994 – July 10, 1996 | Republican | Christine Todd Whitman | ||
| 45 | Peter Verniero | July 10, 1996 – May 15, 1999 | Republican | |||
| 46 |  | John Farmer Jr. | June 3, 1999 – January 15, 2002 | Republican | ||
| 47 | David Samson | January 15, 2002 – February 15, 2003 | [data missing] | Jim McGreevey | ||
| 48 | Peter C. Harvey | February 15, 2003 – January 30, 2006 | Democratic | |||
| 49 | Zulima Farber | January 30, 2006 – August 31, 2006 | Democratic | Jon Corzine | ||
| Acting |  | Anne Milgram[17] | August 31, 2006 – September 26, 2006 | Democratic | ||
| 50 | Stuart Rabner | September 26, 2006 – June 29, 2007 | Democratic | |||
| 51 | | Anne Milgram[17] | June 29, 2007 – January 18, 2010 | Democratic | ||
| 52 | Paula Dow[18][19] | January 18, 2010 – January 10, 2012 | Democratic | Chris Christie | ||
| 53 |  | Jeffrey S. Chiesa | January 10, 2012 – June 6, 2013 | Republican | ||
| Acting | John Jay Hoffman | June 10, 2013 – March 14, 2016 | Republican | |||
| Acting | Robert Lougy | March 14, 2016 – June 21, 2016 | [data missing] | |||
| 54 |  | Christopher Porrino | June 21, 2016 – January 16, 2018 | Independent | ||
| 55 |  | Gurbir Grewal | January 16, 2018 – July 19, 2021 | Democratic | Phil Murphy | |
| Acting |  | Andrew Bruck | July 19, 2021 – February 14, 2022 | Democratic | ||
| Acting | | Matt Platkin | February 14, 2022 – September 29, 2022 | Democratic | ||
| 56 | | Matt Platkin | September 29, 2022 – present | Democratic | ||
