About the AG’s Office
The New Jersey Attorney General oversees the Department of Law and Public Safety (LPS or the Department), which consists of more than 8,000 employees across 24 divisions, offices, and commissions. In this role, the Attorney General serves as both the state’s chief law enforcement officer and its chief lawyer. The Attorney General is nominated and appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate.
As the state’s chief law enforcement officer, the Attorney General oversees the New Jersey State Police (NJSP), the state’s largest law enforcement agency, and the Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ), which has statewide authority to investigate and prosecute criminal offenses. In addition, the Attorney General oversees three specialized prosecution agencies: the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor (OIFP), which investigates insurance fraud, and the Office of Public Integrity & Accountability (OPIA), which investigates public corruption and other abuses of public trust, and the Office of Securities Fraud and Financial Crimes Prosecutions (OSFFCP), which investigates securities and complex financial fraud crimes.
Under the Criminal Justice Act of 1970, the Attorney General is responsible for the “administration of criminal justice throughout the state.” This responsibility takes several forms. The Attorney General may issue statements of statewide policy – known as “law enforcement directives” – that are binding on all state, county, and local law enforcement officers in New Jersey. In addition, the Attorney General oversees the state’s 21 County Prosecutors, and may assume responsibility for, or “supersede,” investigations or prosecutions handled by a County Prosecutor’s Office. Through the Office of Policing Strategy and Innovation, the Attorney General oversees the Police Training Commission, which establishes standards for law enforcement training and the state’s police academies. The Attorney General is also responsible for the Youth Justice Commission, which is the single agency of State government with centralized authority for planning, policy development, and provision of services in the juvenile justice system.
As the State’s chief lawyer, the Attorney General provides legal representation to the Office of the Governor and the state’s departments, boards, and agencies, and is charged with protecting the health, safety, and well-being of New Jersey residents. The Attorney General carries out this responsibility through the Division of Law (DOL), which assigns its attorneys to represent various state entities.
Through DOL, the Attorney General defends state agencies when they are sued and also represents agencies when they bring enforcement actions against companies and individuals that violate state law. These enforcement actions – known as “affirmative litigation” or “affirmative civil enforcement” – ensure compliance with New Jersey’s civil rights, consumer protection, environmental, health care, labor, and securities laws.
In addition, New Jersey is represented by attorneys from DOL and the Office of the Solicitor General when coordinating multistate actions with other states and when defending or opposing federal actions.
HISTORY OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE
Early years of the office (1704-1946)
The position of New Jersey Attorney General was first established in 1704, shortly after the provinces of East Jersey and West Jersey were reunited as a single colony. The royal governor, Lord Cornbury, appointed Alexander Griffith to serve as the first Attorney General, a position he held until 1714. Six additional men held the role while the colony was under British rule.
In 1776, New Jersey declared its independence and adopted its first state constitution. William Paterson was appointed the first Attorney General of the newly created state. Over the next century, a number of prominent New Jersey residents held the position, including Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen, who later served as U.S. Secretary of State, and William L. Dayton, who served as U.S. Ambassador to France during the Civil War.
During first half of the twentieth century, New Jersey established several independent agencies that would later fall under the Attorney General’s purview. In 1921, for example, the state created the New Jersey State Police, an independent Department under the supervision of its first Superintendent, H. Norman Schwarzkopf. In 1944, the state created the Department of Law, which assisted the Attorney General in providing legal advice to the Governor and state agencies.
The modern era (1947-present)
In 1947, New Jersey ratified a new constitution that overhauled the state’s judicial and executive functions. The following year, Governor Alfred Driscoll signed the Law and Public Safety Act of 1948, N.J.S.A. 52:17B-1, et seq., which created a new cabinet-level agency – the Department of Law & Public Safety, headed by the Attorney General – and placed several agencies under its supervision, including the New Jersey State Police and the Department of Law (later renamed the Division of Law). The 1948 Act also gave the Attorney General authority over divisions regulating alcoholic beverages, motor vehicles, professional boards, and weights & measures.
In the second half of the twentieth century and continuing into the twenty-first century, the responsibilities of the Department of Law & Public Safety expanded through the establishment of new divisions as well as the transfr of existing ones from other Departments. These changes significantly altered the role of the Attorney General, particularly in the areas of civil rights, criminal prosecution, consumer protection, gaming enforcement, and more.
Go here to see a full directory of all Divisions and Offices.
Go here to see a list of past Attorneys General.