A number of recent media reports have pointed out that there are an unusual number of cabinet officials serving in an “acting” capacity in New Jersey. While the only practical consequence of this status for most heads of departments is that they might be slightly less innovative or assertive in exercising their powers, there is an additional set of consequences in the case of the attorney general.
Article V, Section IV, Paragraph 3 of the state constitution provides several additional elements of independence to the attorney general. In contrast to the attorney general in the federal system—who is nominated, with the advice and consent of the Senate, by the president and serves at his or her pleasure—or the attorneys general in most other states, who either serve at the pleasure of the governor or are independently elected, New Jersey’s constitution provides that the attorney general serves for a set term to coincide with that of the governor.
