Attorney General of New Jersey
The attorney general of New Jersey is a member of the executive cabinet of the state and oversees the Department of Law and Public Safety. The office is appointed by the governor of New Jersey, confirmed by the New Jersey Senate, and term limited. ...
and the first Latina (
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
n) to serve as Acting Governor of New Jersey. She was appointed Attorney General in 2006 by
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Jon Corzine
Jon Stevens Corzine ( ; born January 1, 1947) is an American financial executive and retired politician who served as a United States Senator from New Jersey from 2001 to 2006 and the 54th governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. Corzine ran fo ...
and resigned on August 31, 2006. She was succeeded by First Assistant Attorney General
Anne Milgram
Anne Melissa Milgram (born December 1, 1970) is an American attorney and academic who serves as the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Milgram was previously the 57th Attorney General of New Jersey from 2007 to 2010.
Early ...
on an interim basis until
Stuart Rabner
Stuart Jeff Rabner (born June 30, 1960) is the chief justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court. He served as New Jersey Attorney General, Chief Counsel to Governor Jon Corzine, and as a federal prosecutor at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Dist ...
took office on September 26, 2006.
Biography
Zulima Farber fled
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
with her siblings at age 16 following the takeover by
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...
. Living at first with an aunt until her parents emigrated, she graduated from
Memorial High School Memorial High School may refer to:
United States As ''Memorial High School'' alone
*Memorial High School (Millville, New Jersey)
*Memorial High School (West New York, New Jersey)
*Memorial High School (St. Marys, Ohio)
* Memorial High School (Tul ...
in
West New York
West New York is a town in the northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, situated upon the New Jersey Palisades. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 52,912. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates ...
, and worked her way through
Montclair State College
Montclair State University (MSU) is a public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, the second largest public university in New ...
and
Rutgers School of Law–Newark
Rutgers Law School is the law school of Rutgers University, with classrooms in Newark and Camden, New Jersey. It is the largest public law school and the 10th largest law school, overall, in the United States. Each class in the three-year J.D. pr ...
. During her time at
Rutgers Law School
Rutgers Law School is the law school of Rutgers University, with classrooms in Newark and Camden, New Jersey. It is the largest public law school and the 10th largest law school, overall, in the United States. Each class in the three-year J.D. pr ...
, she was a founding member of the Association of Latin-American Law Students.
Earlier in her career, Farber served as an Assistant Prosecutor in
Bergen County
Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Brendan Byrne
Brendan Thomas Byrne (April 1, 1924 – January 4, 2018) was an American politician, statesman, and prosecutor, serving as the 47th governor of New Jersey from 1974 to 1982.
A member of the Democratic Party, Byrne started his career as a privat ...
. From 1992 to 1994, she served as state Public Advocate in the Cabinet of former Gov.
James Florio
James Joseph Florio (August 29, 1937 – September 25, 2022) was an American politician who served as the 49th governor of New Jersey from 1990 to 1994. He was previously the U.S. Representative for New Jersey's 1st congressional district from 19 ...
. She served as New Jersey Public Advocate from 1992 to 1994, and was the last public advocate to serve in the position before former Gov.
Christine Todd Whitman
Christine Temple Whitman (née Todd; born September 26, 1946) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001 and as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in the administration o ...
abolished the office in 1994. The office was restored in 2005 under legislation signed by former Gov. Richard Codey and Governor Corzine's appointment of
Ronald Chen
Ronald Chen( 1958 - ) is currently University Professor, Distinguished Professor of Law and Judge Leonard I Garth Scholar at Rutgers Law School. Until August 2018, he was co-dean of Rutgers Law School and is the former New Jersey Public Advocate. ...
to the position. When Governor Corzine nominated her to become Attorney General, she was a senior partner at the law firm of Lowenstein Sandler PC, one of New Jersey's largest firms.
In December 1996, Farber was a member of the New Jersey State Electoral College, one of 15 electors casting their votes for the Clinton/Gore ticket.
In 2003, Farber was considered for a seat on the
New Jersey Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of New Jersey is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, the Supreme Court of New Jersey is the final judicial authority on all cases in the state court system, including cases challenging the ...
by former Gov. James McGreevey. A nomination did not materialize after it was revealed that she had an unpaid traffic ticket for unsafe driving, which led to a bench warrant being issued. Farber claimed she received no notice of a hearing and paid a fine to resolve the matter. The driving record issue would later be raised against Farber during her confirmation hearing for Attorney General in the
New Jersey Senate
The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232, ...
.
Nomination as Attorney General
During Farber's nomination proceedings, Senator
Gerald Cardinale
Gerald Cardinale (February 27, 1934 – February 20, 2021) was an American Republican Party politician, who served in the New Jersey State Senate from 1982 until his death in 2021, representing the 39th Legislative District. He also served one ...
, a Republican from
Bergen County
Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.
Cardinale, one of two Republicans to oppose Farber's nomination, said that he was concerned about the state appointing someone who had been repeatedly accused of breaking traffic laws as its top law enforcement official. "Your record taken in its totality does not support the notion that you have respect for the law," he said. Later, he said that approving Farber's nomination might send a message "to young people, to the whole population of the state of New Jersey, that it's O.K. to offend the law repeatedly time after time. To have bench warrants issued for your arrest is not an impediment. I cannot bring myself to vote for you."
In reply to questions about legal matters, Farber said she opposed the use of deadly force to protect property and the use of mandatory minimum sentences, which she said takes away discretion from judges. She also promised to vigorously pursue allegations of public corruption.
Acting Governorship
On February 2, 2006, Farber became the first Latina to serve as Acting Governor of New Jersey. This occurred when the Governor,
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
President and
Assembly
Assembly may refer to:
Organisations and meetings
* Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions
* General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...
Speaker all left the state for a dinner in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
Under the New Jersey State Constitution, Farber exercised the powers of the Governor until Governor Corzine or one of the legislative leaders returned to the state.
Fairview traffic stop incident
On May 26, 2006, Farber's boyfriend, Hamlet Goore, was stopped by police in Fairview, in
Bergen County
Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New Jersey State Police
The New Jersey State Police (NJSP) is the official state police force of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a general-powers police agency with statewide jurisdiction, designated by troop sectors.
History
As with other state police organization ...
driver drive from
Newark
Newark most commonly refers to:
* Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States
* Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area
Newark may also refer to:
Places Canada
* Niagara-on-the ...
to Fairview. At the scene, Farber met with Fairview's mayor, Vincent Belluci. Farber claims that she was there just to help Goore remove items from his car before it was impounded. However, the tickets that the Fairview police issued to Goore were withdrawn and his car was not impounded. As a result of this incident, a retired state appellate judge from
Atlantic County
Atlantic County is a County (United States), county located along the southern coast of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the county had a population of 274,534.
, Richard J. Williams, headed a special investigation at the request of the New Jersey Governor's Office to look into whether Farber abused her position as Attorney General or broke any laws.
Williams' report, released on August 15, 2006, concluded that Farber violated the state's code of ethics but did not commit a crime when she showed up at the scene of her boyfriend's traffic stop in May 2006. The report found Farber innocent of the more significant ethical violations she was accused of. She was found not to have requested special favors from any officer or
ticket fixing
Ticket fixing is a practice in which a public official destroys or dismisses a pending traffic ticket as a favor to a friend or family member. For example, police officers in a number of jurisdictions have been charged with destroying pending tick ...
, nor any "fixing" or inappropriate favors from the Motor Vehicle Commission in regard to the restoration of her boyfriend's driving privileges.
Resignation
On August 15, 2006, as a result of the conclusions drawn by Williams during his investigation, Farber announced her resignation from the office of Attorney General, effective August 31, saying that she was stepping down on her own initiative "out of respect for the Governor," and not because she had been asked to resign. This came about after the chairman of the Judiciary Committee,
State Senator
A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature.
Description
A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...
John Adler
John Herbert Adler (August 23, 1959April 4, 2011) was an American lawyer, politician and a member of the Democratic Party who served for one term as the U.S. representative for from 2009 until 2011. He lost his 2010 congressional election to ...
, called for her resignation, and Governor Corzine allegedly requested that she resign during a private meeting.
Motor vehicle records show that Farber had at least 12 speeding tickets, four
bench warrant
An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by a judge or magistrate on behalf of the state, which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual, or the search and seizure of an individual's property.
Canada
Arrest warrants are issued by a ju ...
s issued for her arrest and three license suspensions.
After Farber left office on September 1, 2006, First Assistant Attorney General
Anne Milgram
Anne Melissa Milgram (born December 1, 1970) is an American attorney and academic who serves as the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Milgram was previously the 57th Attorney General of New Jersey from 2007 to 2010.
Early ...
became Acting Attorney General.
Farber has since joined Issues Management, a
Princeton
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...
-based lobbying firm affiliated with the law firm
Lowenstein Sandler
Lowenstein Sandler is a New Jersey based American law firm with additional offices in New York, Palo Alto, New Jersey, Utah, and Washington, D.C. The firm has approximately 350 attorneys and has been described as "well connected" politically withi ...
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
New Jersey Attorney General
The attorney general of New Jersey is a member of the executive cabinet of the state and oversees the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, Department of Law and Public Safety. The office is appointed by the governor of New Jersey, confir ...