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Attorney General of New Jersey

{{short description|Member of the New Jersey executive cabinet}}

{{Infobox government agency

| agency_name = State of New Jersey Office of the Attorney General

| logo = Seal of the Attorney General of New Jersey.svg

| image =

| logo_width = 150px

| jurisdiction = New Jersey

| headquarters = Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex, 25 Market Street, Trenton, New Jersey

| chief1_name = Matthew Platkin

| chief1_position = Attorney General

| parent_agency = State of New Jersey

| succession = Fourth

| website = {{url|njoag.gov|Official website}}

}}

The attorney general of New Jersey is a member of the executive cabinet of the state and oversees the Department of Law and Public Safety. The office is appointed by the governor of New Jersey, confirmed by the New Jersey Senate, and term limited. Under the provisions of the New 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.[http://njlegallib.rutgers.edu/ols/ols20050509.pdf Letter from OLS Deputy Counsel Danielle A. Brucchieri to Senate Republican Office], Office of Legislative Services, May 9, 2005. Accessed December 2, 2008.

It is fourth in the line of succession after the lieutenant governor of New Jersey, president of the New Jersey Senate, and speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly. The attorney general cannot also serve as the lieutenant governor.

List of office holders

Holders of the office of attorney general include:[http://www.nj.gov/oag/history-past-asg.htm Past Attorneys General], New Jersey Attorney General. Accessed December 15, 2007.

=Colonial period=

class="wikitable sortable"

! Term of office!! Attorney General!! Notes and references

1704
–1714		Alexander GriffithAlexander Griffith was the first Colonial New Jersey Attorney General.
1714
–1719		Thomas Burnett Gordon(17 April 1652{{mdash}}April 28, 1722) was a Scottish emigrant to the Thirteen Colonies who became Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court and New Jersey Attorney General for the Province of New Jersey.{{cite web|url=http://www.nj.gov/oag/oag/ag_1714-1719_gordon_bio.htm|title= Thomas Gordon Attorney General 1714-1719|access-date= 20 October 2015}}
1719
–1723		Jeremiah Basse(died 1725) was a governor of both West Jersey and East 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 in colonial New York. He served in the Colonial Assembly and as attorney general of the colony in 1721
–23. His son William was later a major general in the Continental Army during the American 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 a brigadier general in the British Loyalist force, the New Jersey Volunteers during the American Revolutionary War.{{cite web|title=Biographical Sketch of Brigadier General Cortland Skinner|url=http://www.royalprovincial.com/history/figures/skinner.shtml|website=www.royalprovincial.com|publisher=The On-Line Institute for Advanced Loyalist Studies|access-date=28 August 2017}}{{cite book|last1=Lamb|first1=Martha Joanna|title=Embracing the period prior to the Revolution, closing in 1774|date=1877|publisher=A.S. Barnes and Company|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hrUsAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA706|access-date=28 August 2017|language=en}}

=Post-independence=

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

!#

!Picture

!Attorney General

!Term in office

! colspan="2" |Party affiliation

!Appointed by

1

|File:William Paterson copy.jpg

|William Paterson[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=P000102 William Paterson], Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Accessed December 1, 2006.(1745–1806)

|1776
–
1783

| style="background:{{party color|Federalist Party (United States)}};" |

|Federalist

| Elected by the legislature

2

|File:Portrait of Joseph Bloomfield.jpg

|Joseph Bloomfield

(1753–1823)

|1783
–
1792

|

|Anti-Administration

| Elected by the legislature

3

|100px

|Aaron Woodruff[http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/woodnutt-woodrum.html#1BH18MMSR Political Graveyard: Aaron Dickinson Woodruff], accessed August 27, 2006.

|1792
–
1811

| style="background:{{party color|Federalist Party (United States)}};" |

|Federalist

| Elected by the legislature

4

|

|Andrew S. Hunter

|1811

| style="background:{{party color|Democratic-Republican Party (United States)}};" |

|Democratic-Republican

| Elected by the legislature

5

|100px

|Aaron Woodruff

|1812
–
June 26, 1817

| style="background:{{party color|Federalist Party (United States)}};" |

|Federalist

| Elected by the legislature

6

|File:Theodore Frelinghuysen.jpg

|Theodore Frelinghuysen

|February 6, 1817
–
March 4, 1829

| style="background:{{party color|Federalist Party (United States)}};" |

|Federalist

| Elected by the legislature

7

|File:Samuel L. Southard SecNavy.jpg

|Samuel L. Southard[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=S000689 Samuel Lewis Southard], Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Accessed December 1, 2006.

|1829
–
1833

| style="background:{{party color|National Republican Party (United States)}};" |

|National Republican

| Elected by the legislature

8

|

|John Moore White

|1833
–
1838

|

|{{dm|date=July 2021}}

| Elected by the legislature

9

|File:Richardstocktonfield.jpg

|Richard Stockton Field[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=F000106 Richard Stockton Field], Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Accessed August 25, 2007.

|1838
–
1841

| style="background:{{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |

|Republican

| Elected by the legislature

10

|

|George P. Mollesson

|1841
–
1844

|

|{{dm|date=July 2021}}

| Elected by the legislature

11

|

|Richard P. Thompson

|1844
–
1845

|

|{{dm|date=July 2021}}

| rowspan="3" |Daniel Haines

12

|File:Abraham Browning.jpg

|Abraham Browning

|1845
–
1850

| style="background:{{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |

|Democratic

13

|File:LuciusElmer.jpg

|Lucius Elmer[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=E000156 Lucius Quintius Cincinnatus Elmer], Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Accessed August 20, 2007.

|1850
–
1852

|

|Democratic

14

|

|Richard P. Thompson

|1852
–
1857

|

|{{dm|date=July 2021}}

|George Franklin Fort

15

|File:WLDayton-1856 (cropped 3x4).png

|William L. Dayton[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=D000166 William L. Dayton], Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Accessed November 11, 2006.

|1857
–
1861

| style="background:{{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |

|Republican

|William A. Newell

16

|File:Frederick T. Frelinghuysen - Brady-Handy-enhanced.jpg

|Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=F000369 Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen], Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Accessed December 1, 2006.

|1861
–
1867

| style="background:{{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |

|Republican

|Charles Smith Olden

17

|File:George Robeson 1865 1880.jpg

|George M. Robeson[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=R000330 George Maxwell Robeson], Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Accessed December 1, 2006.

|1867
–
1870

| style="background:{{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |

|Republican

|Marcus Lawrence Ward

18

|

|Robert Gilchrist Jr.

|1870
–
1875

| style="background:{{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |

|Democratic

|Theodore Fitz Randolph

19

|File:Joel Parker.jpg

|Joel Parker[https://web.archive.org/web/20060226115041/http://www.njstatelib.org/NJ_Information/Digital_Collections/Governors_of_New_Jersey/GPARK.pdf New Jersey State Library biography for Joel Parker], New Jersey State Library. Accessed July 11, 2007.

|1875

| style="background:{{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |

|Democratic

| rowspan="3" |Joseph D. Bedle

20

|

|Jacob Vanatta

|1875
–
1877

|

|{{dm|date=July 2021}}

21

|File:John P. Stockton - Brady-Handy (cropped).jpg

|John P. Stockton[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=S000939 John Potter Stockton], Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Accessed December 1, 2006.

|April 8, 1877
–
April 5, 1897

| style="background:{{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |

|Democratic

22

|

|Samuel H. Grey[http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/NJ/ofc/attygn.html New Jersey: State Attorneys General], The Political Graveyard. Accessed April 24, 2007.

|1897
–
1902

|

|{{dm|date=July 2021}}

|John W. Griggs

23

|110px

|Thomas N. McCarter

|1902
–
1903

| style="background:{{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |

|Republican

| rowspan="2" |Franklin Murphy

24

|80px

|Robert H. McCarter

|1903
–
1908

| style="background:{{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |

|Republican

25

|File:Portrait of Edmund Wilson Sr. from The Republican National Convention, 1904.png

|Edmund Wilson Sr.

|1908
–
1914

| style="background:{{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |

|Republican

|John Franklin Fort

26

|File:John W. Wescott.jpg

|John Wesley Wescott

|1914
–
1919

| style="background:{{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |

|Democratic

|James F. Fielder

27

|

|Thomas F. McCran

|1919
–
1924

| style="background:{{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |

|Republican

|Walter Evans Edge

28

|

|Edward L. Katzenbach

|1924
–
1929

|

|{{dm|date=July 2021}}

|George S. Silzer

29

|

|William A. Stevens

|1929
–
1934

|

|{{dm|date=July 2021}}

|Morgan F. Larson

30

|

|David T. Wilentz

|1934
–
1944

| style="background:{{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |

|Democratic

|A. Harry Moore

31

|

|Walter D. Van Riper

|1944
–
1948

| style="background:{{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |

|Republican

|Walter Evans Edge

32

|

|Theodore D. Parsons

|February 4, 1948
–
1954

|

|{{dm|date=July 2021}}

|Alfred E. Driscoll

33

|

|Grover C. Richman Jr.

|1954
–
1958

|

|{{dm|date=July 2021}}

| rowspan="2" |Robert B. Meyner

34

|

|David D. Furman

|1958
–
1962

|

|{{dm|date=July 2021}}

35

|

|Arthur J. Sills

|January 6, 1962
–
1970

|

|{{dm|date=July 2021}}

|Richard J. Hughes

36

|

|George Francis Kugler Jr.

|1970
–
1974

|

|{{dm|date=July 2021}}

|William T. Cahill

37

|File:Bill Hyland.png

|William F. Hyland

|1974
–
1978

| style="background:{{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |

|Democratic

| rowspan="3" |Brendan Byrne

38

|

|John J. Degnan

|January 17, 1978
–
March 5, 1981

| style="background:{{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |

|Democratic

39

|

|James R. Zazzali

|1981
–
1982

| style="background:{{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |

|Democratic

40

|

|Irwin I. Kimmelman

|January 19, 1982
–
January 21, 1986

| style="background:{{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |

|Republican

| rowspan="3" |Thomas Kean

41

|

|W. Cary Edwards

|January 21, 1986
–
January 19, 1989

| style="background:{{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |

|Republican

42

|

|Peter N. Perretti Jr.

|February 14, 1989
–
January 16, 1990

|

|{{dm|date=July 2021}}

43

|

|Robert Del Tufo

|January 16, 1990
–
August 24, 1994

| style="background:{{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |

|Democratic

|Jim Florio

44

|

|Deborah Portiz

|January 18, 1994
–
July 10, 1996

| style="background:{{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |

|Republican

| rowspan="3" |Christine Todd Whitman

45

|

|Peter Verniero

|July 10, 1996
–
May 15, 1999

| style="background:{{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |

|Republican

46

|File:John Farmer Jr. 2015.jpg

|John Farmer Jr.

|June 3, 1999
–
January 15, 2002

| style="background:{{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |

|Republican

47

|

|David Samson

|January 15, 2002
–
February 15, 2003

|

|{{dm|date=July 2021}}

| rowspan="2" |Jim McGreevey

48

|

|Peter C. Harvey

|February 15, 2003
–
January 30, 2006

|

|Democratic

49

|

|Zulima Farber

|January 30, 2006
–
August 31, 2006

| style="background:{{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |

|Democratic

| rowspan="4" |Jon Corzine

Acting

|File:Anne Milgram official DEA photo.jpg

|Anne Milgram[http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1182487515216650.xml&coll=1 "Hello to a new day"], The Star-Ledger, June 22, 2007. Accessed July 11, 2007.

|August 31, 2006
–
September 26, 2006

| style="background:{{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |

|Democratic

50

|

|Stuart Rabner

|September 26, 2006
–
June 29, 2007

| style="background:{{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |

|Democratic

51

|File:Anne Milgram official DEA photo.jpg

|Anne Milgram

|June 29, 2007
–
January 18, 2010

| style="background:{{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |

|Democratic

52

|

|Paula Dow{{cite news|date=2010-02-22|title=Senate confirms 5 NJ Cabinet picks|work=Asbury Park Press|url=http://www.app.com/article/20100222/NEWS03/100222089/Senate-confirms-5-NJ-Cabinet-picks|url-status=dead|access-date=2010-02-22|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130102012145/http://www.app.com/article/20100222/NEWS03/100222089/Senate-confirms-5-NJ-Cabinet-picks|archive-date=2013-01-02}}{{cite news|date=2010-02-23|title=Paula Dow is sworn in as N.J. Attorney General|work=The Star-Ledger|url=http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/02/paul_dow_is_sworn_in_as_nj_att.html|access-date=2010-02-23}}

|January 18, 2010
–
January 10, 2012

| style="background:{{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |

|Democratic

| rowspan="5" |Chris Christie

53

|File:Jeffrey Chiesa, official portrait, 113th Congress.jpg

|Jeffrey S. Chiesa

|January 10, 2012
–
June 6, 2013

| style="background:{{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |

|Republican

Acting

|File:Attorney John Jay Hoffman.jpg

|John Jay Hoffman

|June 10, 2013
–
March 14, 2016

| style="background:{{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |

|Republican

Acting

|

|Robert Lougy

|March 14, 2016
–
June 21, 2016

|

|{{dm|date=July 2021}}

54

|File:Headshot-Porrino, Christopher -AG office by flags 2017.jpg

|Christopher Porrino

|June 21, 2016
–
January 16, 2018

|style="background:{{party color|Independent politician}};" |

|Independent

55

|File:Gurbir-S-Grewal Official.jpg

|Gurbir Grewal

|January 16, 2018
–
July 19, 2021

| style="background:{{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |

|Democratic

| rowspan="4" |Phil Murphy

Acting

|File:No image.svg

|Andrew Bruck

|July 19, 2021
–
February 14, 2022

| style="background:{{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |

|Democratic

Acting

|File:No image.svg

|Matt Platkin

|February 14, 2022
–
September 29, 2022

| style="background:{{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |

|Democratic

56

|File:No image.svg

|Matt Platkin

|September 29, 2022
–
present

| style="background:{{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |

|Democratic

References

{{portal|New Jersey}}

{{Reflist|2}}

External links

  • [http://www.njoag.gov New Jersey Attorney General] official website
  • [http://www.abajournal.com/search/results/search&keywords=New+Jersey+Attorney+General/ New Jersey Attorney General] articles at ABA Journal
  • [http://public.findlaw.com/LCsearch.html?restrict=consumer&entry=%22New+Jersey+Attorney+General%22 News and Commentary] at FindLaw
  • [http://law.justia.com/codes/new-jersey/ New Jersey Revised Statutes] at Law.Justia.com
  • [http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=us&navby=title&v1=State+of+New+Jersey U.S. Supreme Court Opinions - "Cases with title containing: State of New Jersey"] at FindLaw
  • [http://www.njsba.com/ New Jersey State Bar Association]
  • [http://www.naag.org/naag/attorneys-general/whos-my-ag/new_jersey/john-jay-hoffman.php New Jersey Attorney General John Jay Hoffman profile] at National Association of Attorneys General
  • [http://www.nj.gov/oag/news.htm Press releases] at New Jersey Attorney General

{{New Jersey Attorneys General}}

{{U.S. state attorneys general}}

*

Category:1704 establishments in New Jersey

Attorneys general