Chatham Resident Takes Oath as Acting Essex County Prosecutor

From her perch as the new acting Essex County prosecutor, Carolyn A. Murray can pinpoint what gave her the spark to embark on a career which ultimately paved the way to her leading the busiest and largest prosecutor’s office in the state.

As a child, she was encouraged by her mother to be anything she wanted to be, Murray said.

But when her mother would leave the room, Murray’s grandmother, with a twinkle in her eye, would say wouldn’t it be nice if she became a lawyer like her father, Buddy Murray, who died of cancer in his last year of law school.

That gave Carolyn A. Murray an entry way into a life of law and public service with stints in the ECPO, the U.S. Attorney’s Office - New Jersey Division, and the office of the state Attorney General over a some 24-year career.

Last Tuesday, Murray was sworn into her newest post. Attorney General Paula Dow announced Murray’s appointment earlier this month.

Murray, who lives in Chatham, had previously worked as an assistant prosecutor in the ECPO in the 1980s and 1990s. She has also served as counsel and then first assistant prosecutor for the ECPO in 2004 under then Essex County Prosecutor Dow. Murray was then tapped by Governor Chris Christie to serve as counsel for Dow, who was named New Jersey’s attorney general last year.

“It’s great being back,” Murray said. “It’s been a pretty seamless transition,” she said, crediting former acting Essex County Prosecutor, Robert Laurino, who is now first assistant prosecutor, and Anthony Ambrose, chief of investigators, and Katherine Carter, department spokeswoman, for their help.

Attorney General Dow said she was pleased to have Murray back in her old post.

"When Governor Christie appointed me as his attorney general last year, Carolyn Murray graciously agreed to help me get settled in Trenton.  Now, it’s my pleasure to return her to the office that she truly loves - the Essex County Prosecutor's Office,” Dow said in an email message.

Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura praised Murray as well for her work ethic and dedication.

“She honed her skills here. She’s very efficient at what she does. She’s well versed and well prepared. I think she’s going to do a good job,” he said.

Murray studied at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. where she graduated in 1984 with a cum laude. While interning in the halls of Congress during her undergrad years, Murray said she grew to love the inner workings of the capital.

“I loved the government feel of Washington,” she said. “I found Washington interesting.”

She then went on to earn a law degree from New York University in 1987 and began her  law career with the Newark firm Tompkins, McGuire & Wachenfeld that same year, Murray said.

The next year, Murray was appointed as assistant prosecutor at the ECPO, where she “served as first-chair trial counsel in more than 80 criminal jury trials before the (Essex County) Superior Court including homicide, sexual assault, child abuse and aggravated assault cases,” according to a news release from the state Attorney General's office.

Within three weeks of working there, Murray said she knew that she found a great job where she had the “the opportunity to interact with members of community and to advocate for them in court,” she said.

“It put things in perspective,” she said about her job.

Other highlights in her career include eight years in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey, where she was promoted to chief of the public prosecution unit in 2002.

Murray worked in every level of the federal prosecution process from investigation to trial, according to a press release from the office of the state Attorney General.  

Murray was then appointed counsel to the office of the acting prosecutor for the ECPO in 2003 before becoming first assistant prosecutor under Dow, where Murray oversaw 140 assistant prosecutors, 150 detectives, and 120 support staff members, according to the same press release.