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TRENTON
– Attorney General Paula T. Dow today
announced the appointment of Carolyn A.
Murray as Acting Essex County Prosecutor.
Murray brings more than 20 years of county,
state, and federal prosecutorial experience
to her new position.
Murray
is expected to be sworn into office on February
22. She replaces Robert Laurino, who served
as Acting County Prosecutor for more than
a year.
“I
am extremely confident that Carolyn will
be an outstanding prosecutor for the citizens
of Essex County,” said Governor Chris
Christie. “For all the years I’ve
known Carolyn, I’ve been impressed
with her toughness as a prosecutor, as well
as her compassion, and her ability in confronting
challenging problems. All of those attributes
make her a particularly natural choice to
lead the Essex County Prosecutor’s
Office.”
“Carolyn
has served with me with great dedication
and distinction for more than eight years,
originally, as First Assistant Prosecutor
for the Essex County Prosecutor’s
Office and most recently, as Counsel to
the Attorney General,” said Attorney
General Dow.
“When
Governor Christie appointed me as his Attorney
General, Carolyn graciously agreed to help
me get settled in Trenton. Now, it’s
my pleasure to return her to the office
that she loves. I have the utmost confidence
in her exceptional ability to lead the Essex
County Prosecutor’s Office.”
Attorney
General Dow commended Laurino for the skill
and dedication he displayed during his year
as Acting Prosecutor.
“I
know the citizens of Essex County were well
served during Bob’s tenure as Acting
Prosecutor, and I thank him for his outstanding
effort,” said Dow.
“I
am deeply humbled and honored that Attorney
General Dow has appointed me to lead the
Essex County Prosecutor’s Office as
acting prosecutor,” Murray said. “As
I return to this outstanding office that
has made such great strides during the last
several years, I vow to carry out our mission
of fighting crime and protecting the citizens
of Essex County and the State of New Jersey.”
Murray
began her career with the law firm of Tompkins,
McGuire & Wachenfeld in Newark in 1987.
The following year, she joined the Essex
County Prosecutor’s Office
as
an Assistant Prosecutor. In 1995, she joined
the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District
of New Jersey and in 2002, she was promoted
to Chief of the Public Prosecution Unit.
In
2003, she was appointed Counsel to the Acting
Prosecutor for the Essex County
Prosecutor’s
Office, and in 2004, Murray was named First
Assistant Prosecutor for the Essex County
Prosecutor’s Office. Governor Chris
Christie appointed her as Counsel to the
Attorney General in 2010.
As
Counsel to the Attorney General, she was
responsible for oversight of several divisions
of the Attorney General’s Office including
the Division of Criminal Justice, Division
on Civil Rights, the Juvenile Justice Commission,
and the Division of Highway Traffic Safety.
She served in the executive office of the
Attorney General and advised the Attorney
General on legal, policy and administrative
matters, with an emphasis on matters relevant
to the criminal justice system.
As
First Assistant Prosecutor, Murray was directly
responsible to the Essex County Prosecutor
for the administration of a staff of approximately
140 Assistant Prosecutors, 150 detectives,
and 120 support staff. She supervised the
investigation, charging, and prosecution
of more than 10,000 criminal felony, juvenile,
and remanded misdemeanor cases per year.
As
Assistant United States Attorney, Murray
participated in all aspects of prosecution
of federal criminal cases including investigation,
Grand Jury presentation, and trial. She
served as first-chair trial counsel in several
federal criminal trials. Her experience
includes large narcotics wiretap investigations,
coordination of multi-agency enforcement
initiatives, and service as Violent Crime
Coordinator.
As
Assistant Prosecutor, Murray served as first-chair
trial counsel in more than 80 criminal jury
trials before the Superior Court including
homicide, sexual assault, child abuse and
aggravated assault cases.
A
cum laude graduate of Georgetown University,
Murray received her law degree from New
York University School of Law.
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