Attorney General Paula T. Dow 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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