Somerset County
was established by Charter on May 22, 1688.
At that time, and continuing into the early 1700’s, all
judicial matters, including criminal prosecutions, were handled in
neighboring Middlesex County. By
1717 the first Somerset County Courthouse was built in what is now the
Franklin Park section of Franklin Township.
The courthouse was later re-located to Millstone in 1737 and then
Hillsborough in 1779 before moving to Somerville in 1781.
At that time court was held in what was then called Tunnison’s
Tavern, owned by Cornelius Tunnison, located on the corner of Main and
Grove Streets.
Throughout the
1770’s most people appeared in court before a judge and jury
unrepresented. Prosecuting
officers at that time were either appointed by the court and were
referred to as Chief Magistrates of the Court, or the case was
prosecuted by the colonial Attorney General.
The Office of State Attorney General was officially recognized in
the first Constitution of New Jersey adopted on July 2, 1776.
In 1812 the Attorney General was authorized to appoint deputy
attorneys general to prosecute the pleas of the state in the counties.
In 1822 the New
Jersey State Legislature passed a Bill known as An Act Respecting
Deputies to the Attorney General, which created the position of
“Prosecutor of the Pleas” for the counties.
However, the County Prosecutor of the Pleas was still appointed
by the court, not the Governor. The
first known Prosecutor of the Pleas in Somerset County was William
Thompson, who served from 1830 to 1840, and again from 1852 to 1857.
The County Prosecutor of the Pleas throughout the nineteenth
century handled a wide range of prosecutions, without the assistance of
our various municipal police departments, or even the State Police,
which had not yet been established.
In one case, it was reported that on August 29, 1896,
nineteen-year-old Elmer Claussen of Far Hills was hung after conviction
for the murder of a Pluckemin farmer allegedly committed during a
dispute over $3.00 in unpaid wages.
In an effort to
continue to define the powers and duties of the position of Prosecutor
of the Pleas in the counties, the State Legislature passed the Criminal
Procedure Act of 1874. As
stated in the Act, it was the responsibility and duty of the Prosecutor
of the Pleas to detect, arrest, indict and convict offenders of the laws
in their respective counties. Criminal
Procedure Act of 1874, Rev. 1877, Section 100. In the
mid-1800’s, the Prosecutor of the Pleas became an officer of the
Executive Branch of government rather than a judicial officer as they
were previously. As a
result, prosecutors were then appointed by the Governor, not the court.
In 1909 the
prosecution of cases in Somerset County began in the present day
Historic Courthouse, which had just been built at a cost of
approximately $250,000. Over
the ensuing years, at the conclusion of the prosecution of a case, a
bell that is still hanging within the dome of the courthouse was rung to
signify that the jury had reached a verdict.
Among the more famous of these cases was the prosecution of the
Hall-Mills murder trial in 1926, which took place in what is now
referred to as the ceremonial courtroom in the Historic Courthouse.
By 1912 New Jersey
was only one of five states in the United States not to have locally
elected district attorneys. In
fact, even to this day New Jersey’s system of law enforcement remains
unique in many respects, including the amount of power and authority
vested in both the State Attorney General as the chief law enforcement
officer of the state and the County Prosecutors as the chief law
enforcement officers of the county.
In our present
State Constitution, adopted in 1948, the title of Prosecutor of the
Pleas was changed to “County Prosecutor.”
Although the position of County Prosecutor is constitutionally
established, the specific powers, duties and authority are primarily set
forth by the State Legislature in statutes such as the County
Prosecutor’s Act in Title 2A and in case law.
Accordingly, the County Prosecutor is statutorily vested with the
same powers, within their county, as the Attorney General.
The County Prosecutor has exclusive jurisdiction and broad
discretion over prosecution of crime committed in the county.
State v. Josephs, 79 N.J. Super. 411 (App. Div.
1963); State v. McMahon, 183 N.J. Super. 97 (Law Div.
1981). Although it is the
duty of the Prosecutor to pursue justice and not merely to convict, the
Prosecutor must use all reasonable and lawful diligence to bring about a
just conviction of offenders against the law.
Berger v. U.S., 295 U.S. 78, 88 (1935); State v.
Ippolito, 19 N.J. 540 (1955); State v. Marshall, 123 N.J.
1, 152 (1991).
In 1953, the New
Jersey Supreme Court clearly and unequivocally declared that the County
Prosecutor, as the chief law enforcement officer for the county, had the
“dominant position and the primary responsibility for the enforcement
of the criminal laws.” State
v. Winne, 12 N.J. 152, 167 (1953).
Moreover, the authority of the Prosecutor over a local police
chief and the police department was emphatically set forth by the
Supreme Court when it stated that any lack of responsiveness could be
“on pain of possible indictment if they do not cooperate with him
(Prosecutor) in enforcing the law.”
Id. The
Supreme Court’s opinion concerning the supervisory authority of the
County Prosecutor over local law enforcement is even more viable today
than in 1953. For instance, The Criminal Justice Act of 1970, N.J.S.A.
52:17B-97 et seq., further broadened the extensive powers
of the County Prosecutor and reinforced his role as the dominant law
enforcement officer within the county.
The Criminal Justice Act also clearly established a chain
of command in law enforcement in New Jersey.
That line of authority was determined to run from the Attorney
General to the County Prosecutor to the local law enforcement agencies.
Even though the
County Prosecutor is a State Constitutional Officer and is exclusively
bestowed with the sole appointment power of the assistant prosecutors,
detectives and other staff, along with having complete autonomy in the
internal management of the prosecutor’s office, it is the County Board
of Chosen Freeholders that sets the budget for the operation of the
office. As a result the
State Legislature has provided for County Prosecutors to be able to
petition the Assignment Judge of that county for an Order for the
appointment of additional staff or for expenditures beyond the
appropriations provided by the Freeholders.
Application of Bigley, 55 N.J. 53 (1969).
At about the same
time the Legislature was considering The Criminal Justice Act, it
also passed New Jersey’s first Wiretapping
and Electronic Surveillance Control Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:156A-1 et
seq., effective January 1969.
Pursuant to this statute, no law enforcement officer can make
application to the court for any electronic surveillance order without
the written approval of the County Prosecutor or Attorney General.
In Somerset County
in 1981, the Supreme Court of New Jersey authorized a modification to
the Court Rules for Somerset County to allow for the implementation of
what was then referred to as the “Somerset County Delay Reduction
Master Plan.” In
accordance with this procedure, no criminal complaints can be filed in
Somerset County without the authorization of the Prosecutor.
This 24 hour direct screening process is still in operation today
and has proven extremely effective.
Also in 1981,
after the passage of the State’s first Prevention of Domestic
Violence Act, County Prosecutors, as well as local law enforcement
officers, were given increased enforcement and prosecutorial authority.
In addition, the Prosecutors’ Offices were given the exclusive
responsibility for the disposition of any weapons seized pursuant to
this law.
In 1985, the
Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, along with the Sheriff and the
Chiefs of Police, created the first county-wide S.W.A.T. Team.
Later, a Crisis Negotiation Team, Emergency Medical Team and a
Dive-Rescue Team were all added to what is now called the Somerset
County Emergency Response Teams.
In 1986, the State
Legislature passed the Victim-Witness Assistance Act requiring
County Prosecutors to establish and maintain a county Office of
Victim-Witness Advocacy with a county Victim-Witness Coordinator.
Additionally, New Jersey is one of only a few states that in 1991
ratified a Constitutional Amendment for crime victims. Constitution
of the State of New Jersey, Article I, Paragraph 22.
In Somerset County, the Office of Victim-Witness Advocacy is
actively involved in all our cases, including domestic violence matters
and juvenile cases, often from the moment the crime is reported,
throughout the investigation and trial, and beyond.
In 1987, the
Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, in conjunction with the Sheriff
and Chiefs of Police, established the Somerset County Police Academy.
Presently, the Academy conducts two basic courses for police
officers each year which, at 22 weeks, is the longest and most
comprehensive of its kind in the State.
In addition, the Police Academy conducts more than 100 advanced
training and in-service courses each year for police officers,
detectives and assistant prosecutors.
Pursuant to the
Statewide Narcotics Action Plans of 1987 and 1993, the Attorney General
directed that “County Prosecutors shall maintain County
Narcotics Task Forces and each police department… shall
participate in the task force.” The
County Prosecutor is responsible for overseeing the supervision of this
County Task Force.
In 1994, the
Legislature enacted the Registration and Notification of Release of
Certain Offenders Act, also known as “Megan’s Law.”
Pursuant to this Act the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office,
as did the other prosecutors throughout the State, designated an
assistant prosecutor, a detective and a paralegal to work as a team to
handle the classification and notification responsibilities required of
the Prosecutor under this law.
In 1996, the State
Legislature placed municipal prosecutors under the supervision of the
County Prosecutor. One
year later the County Prosecutor’s wide-ranging supervisory power and
control over municipal prosecutors was confirmed by the Appellate
Division in State v. Ward, 303 N.J. Super. 47, 54 (App.
Div. 1997). On January 19,
2000, the New Jersey Supreme Court in State v. Clark, 162 N.J.
201 (2000), re-affirmed the County Prosecutor’s supervision of
municipal prosecutors when it prohibited
them from serving as defense counsel in any court in the same county.
In addition to the Supreme Court’s decision, the Legislature
also passed legislation requiring that only sworn municipal prosecutors
or the County Prosecutor may be allowed to represent the State in
municipal courts.
In 1999, after
obtaining a grant from the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic
Safety, the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office and Chiefs of Police
established a Vehicular Homicide Task Force and Collision Analysis
Reconstruction (C.A.R.) Team, which the County Prosecutor supervises.
After having
reviewed some of the historical development and the accumulation of the
duties, powers and authority given to the position of County Prosecutor,
along with the functions of the Prosecutor’s Office in Somerset
County, we developed our office’s first Mission Statement.
It is my goal that with the continued support and assistance of
the dedicated staff of the Prosecutor’s Office as well as all the men
and women from our law enforcement community in Somerset County, we will
continue to fulfill our mission for the citizens of Somerset County.
Wayne
J. Forrest
Prosecutor
