January 22, 2010
Office of The Attorney General
– Paula T. Dow, Acting Attorney General
Peter Aseltine
609-292-4791
Acting Attorney General Dow Swears in Carolyn Murray as Counsel to the Attorney General
TRENTON – Acting Attorney General Paula T. Dow swore in Carolyn Murray as Counsel to the Attorney General on Wednesday at the Hughes Justice Complex.
Murray was First Assistant Prosecutor in the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office. Gov. Chris Christie named Murray to the position of Counsel to the Attorney General on Dec. 15, when he announced the appointment of Dow as the new Attorney General.
“Carolyn Murray is a smart and tough prosecutor who has more than 20 years experience trying and supervising violent crime cases,” said Acting Attorney General Dow. “I got to know Carolyn when we were both working in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and convinced her to return to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office when I became prosecutor. She was invaluable there, and I am pleased that I will be able to continue to rely on her good counsel.”
“It is a great honor to have been named to this position by Governor Christie and to have the opportunity to serve once again with General Dow,” said Murray. “I will do everything in my power to assist her as we work to protect the people of New Jersey and their best interests.”
Murray received her undergraduate degree in 1984 from Georgetown University, and her law degree in 1987 from the New York University School of Law. She joined the law firm of Tompkins, McGuire & Wachenfeld in Newark after graduation, and in 1988, she became an Assistant Prosecutor in the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.
During the next seven years in Essex County, Murray tried criminal cases in the Superior Court of New Jersey, including homicide, sexual assault, child abuse, domestic violence and aggravated assault cases. In 1995, she joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, where she continued to try criminal cases, conducted narcotics wiretap investigations, coordinated multi-agency enforcement initiatives, and served as Violent Crime Coordinator. In 2002, she was named Chief of the Public Prosecution Unit.
Murray returned to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office in 2003 to serve as First Assistant Prosecutor.
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