| Agency Name: | State of New Jersey Office of the Attorney General |
| Jurisdiction: | New Jersey |
| Headquarters: | Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex, 25 Market Street, Trenton, New Jersey |
| Chief1 Name: | Matt Platkin |
| Chief1 Position: | Attorney General |
| Parent Agency: | State of New Jersey |
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.[1]
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.
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 | (17 April 1652April 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.[3] | |
| 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.[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 | Aaron Woodruff[7] | 1792 – 1811 | Federalist | Elected by the legislature | ||
| 4 | Andrew S. Hunter | 1811 | Democratic-Republican | Elected by the legislature | ||
| 5 | Aaron Woodruff | 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 | Elected by the legislature | |||
| 9 | Richard Stockton Field[9] | 1838 – 1841 | Republican | Elected by the legislature | ||
| 10 | George P. Mollesson | 1841 – 1844 | Elected by the legislature | |||
| 11 | Richard P. Thompson | 1844 – 1845 | Daniel Haines | |||
| 12 | Abraham Browning | 1845 – 1850 | Democratic | |||
| 13 | Lucius Elmer[10] | 1850 – 1852 | Democratic | |||
| 14 | Richard P. Thompson | 1852 – 1857 | George Franklin Fort | |||
| 15 | 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 | ||||
| 21 | John P. Stockton[15] | April 8, 1877 – April 5, 1897 | Democratic | |||
| 22 | Samuel H. Grey[16] | 1897 – 1902 | John W. Griggs | |||
| 23 | Thomas N. McCarter | 1902 – 1903 | Republican | Franklin Murphy | ||
| 24 | 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 | George S. Silzer | |||
| 29 | William A. Stevens | 1929 – 1934 | 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 | Alfred E. Driscoll | |||
| 33 | Grover C. Richman Jr. | 1954 – 1958 | Robert B. Meyner | |||
| 34 | David D. Furman | 1958 – 1962 | ||||
| 35 | Arthur J. Sills | January 6, 1962 – 1970 | Richard J. Hughes | |||
| 36 | George Francis Kugler Jr. | 1970 – 1974 | 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 | ||||
| 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 | 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 | 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 | ||||
| 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 | |||