The Essex County Prosecutor's Office (ECPO) is the largest and busiest county prosecutor's office in the State of New Jersey. It consists of approximately 140 assistant prosecutors (attorneys at law), 160 detectives licensed to carry arms, and 125 support staff.
ECPO presently processes between 16,000 and 20,000 adult defendants charged with criminal acts per year. In addition, between 3,500 and 5,000 juveniles are processed each year through delinquency proceedings. Most of these defendants are arrested and charged by local or county-level law enforcement agencies, but ECPO also originates charges against defendants through its own investigatory units, and via direct indictment by the Essex County Grand Jury (i.e., charges issued directly by the grand jury and not prior to grand jury review). Between 5,000 and 6,000 adult defendants are indicted in Essex County each year. Essex County currently accounts for about 18% of all criminal (felony) cases referred to county prosecutors' offices in New Jersey. Approximately 35% of the state's homicides and 14% of sexual assaults occur in Essex.
The Essex County Prosecutor
The position of Essex County Prosecutor was established by the Constitution of the State of New Jersey. The Prosecutor serves as the Chief Law Enforcement Officer in the county. County Prosecutors in New Jersey are appointed by the Governor for a term of five years, and must be affirmed by the State Senate. They are not elected to office, as with equivalent positions (e.g., District Attorney or State's Attorney) in other states. County Prosecutors in New Jersey may be reappointed without term limit. The daily operations of the Office of the Essex County Prosecutor are funded mostly through tax revenues collected by Essex County and budgeted by the Board of Chosen Freeholders, with additional sums garnered from crime forfeitures and from grants made by State and federal agencies.
History
In 1776, the State of New Jersey ratified its first Constitution (superseded by later Constitutions in 1844 and 1947). Under this Constitution, the elected Governor appointed an Attorney General to enforce the laws of the State. The Attorney General in turn appointed deputies for the various counties, including Essex, to enforce the criminal laws on behalf of the local populace. In 1822, the New Jersey General Assembly passed an act authorizing a more independent Prosecutor of Pleas for each county, to be appointed by the Court of Quarter Sessions once every five years. A few years later, the Governor was given the authority to appoint each county's Prosecutor of Pleas.
On February 20, 1829, Amzi Dodd became the first governor-appointed Prosecutor of Pleas for Essex County. The earliest record of a prosecution by Prosecutor Dodd involves “a nuisance in suffering the water to stagnate and become offensive in the old burying ground” in Newark.
The first Prosecutor of Pleas worked alone, but by 1877 the Prosecutor required the help of a First Assistant. As Essex County grew and matters became more complex, the Office of the Prosecutor grew in size. By 1922, Essex County Prosecutor John O. Bigelow employed 28 men, including three Assistant Prosecutors, two Detective Captains, two Lieutenants, and various detectives and clerks. In the 1920s and 30's, cases involving gambling, organized crime and official corruption were growing in number. In October 1935, the nationally known organized crime figure Dutch Schultz was shot at the Palace Chop House in Newark. Although the prime suspect was found hanged soon after the incident, the Office continued its investigation and identified Schultz's real shooter who pleaded guilty to the murder in 1940.
By 1945, the Office still had only three Assistant Prosecutors, despite a growing number of murder and gambling cases. In 1951, Prosecutor Edward Gaulkin gained attention by successfully prosecuting four men charged with conspiracy, extortion and bribery in the Newark milk scandal case. In 1959, New Jersey Governor Robert B. Meyner nominated Brendan T. Byrne of West Orange as the 25th Prosecutor of Essex County. Prosecutor (and later Governor) Byrne served the Office until 1967. By 1962, there were 16 Assistant Prosecutors, most of whom were part-time employees. Shortly thereafter, the first female Assistant Prosecutor was appointed. Also during Byrne's tenure, the “Charlie Squad” was formed, a name coined after members of the public were urged to report illegal gambling by calling a dedicated phone number.