October 1887: A new New Jersey law made it illegal for the governor to commission as a state policeman or detective anyone who had a record of conviction for arson, burglary, counterfeiting, forgery, perjury or highway robbery. But to prevent trespasses and malicious mischief in rural districts, a township committee could appoint anyone as a police officer who would perform the duties of the office for nothing.
100 Years Ago
October 1912: Gov. Woodrow Wilson surprised the Law Journal editors and others by invoking a 1901 law that allowed municipal officials to be prosecuted for failing to deal with and suppress conditions of vice within their jurisdiction. The law had been aimed at vice in Atlantic City, but Wilson in an official communication targeted seven places in Newark where violations were taking place, and in supporting affidavits he named the mayor, the chief of police, the prosecutor and the sheriff as responsible.
