Irwin I. Kimmelman (September 10, 1930 – September 12, 2014,

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

) was a politician who served in both houses of the

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and ...

and served as the

Attorney General of New Jersey 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, confi ...

from 1982 – 1986.

Biography

Kimmelman graduated from

Weequahic High School Weequahic High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades, located in the Weequahic section of Newark in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school is operated by th ...

and studied accounting at the

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

School of Business Administration, graduating in 1952. He entered

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

, where he won the Roscoe Pound Prize for brief writing and oral argument, and graduated in 1955. He was admitted to the New Jersey Bar the following year after a clerkship with Superior Court Judge Edward Gaulkin. Kimmelman served in the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

for one term, from 1964 to 1966. He was an unsuccessful candidate for State Senator in 1965.

1965 Essex County State Senator general election results

He was a

New Jersey Superior Court The Superior Court is the state court in the U.S. state of New Jersey, with statewide trial and appellate jurisdiction. The New Jersey Constitution of 1947 establishes the power of the New Jersey courts: under Article Six of the State Consti ...

judge from May 1971 through September 1976, when he resigned to return to private law practice. He represented

Thomas Kean Thomas Howard Kean ( ; born April 21, 1935) is an American politician, statesman, and academic administrator from the state of New Jersey. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, Kean served two terms as the 48th governor of New Jersey f ...

during the recount for the 1981 gubernatorial election. After Kean won the recount, he announced his choice of Kimmelman as Attorney General on December 14, 1981. A resident of the Short Hills section of Millburn Township, Kimmelman was confirmed by the

New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate is 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 232,225 (2020 figure ...

and sworn in on January 19, 1982, the day of Kean's inauguration.Staff
"SKETCHES OF MAJOR APPOINTEES TO KEAN'S CABINET"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', February 3, 1982. Accessed September 10, 2015. "Attorney General Irwin I. Kimmelman of Short Hills has been in all three branches of government. The 51-year-old lawyer served in the State Assembly in 1964 and 1965 and as a Superior Court judge from 1971 to 1976, when he resigned to return to private practice." Kimmelman returned to private practice in 1986 and was replaced by W. Cary Edwards. He would later return to the bench as a State Superior Court judge.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kimmelman, Irwin I. 1930 births 2014 deaths New Jersey attorneys general Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly New Jersey state court judges Harvard Law School alumni Rutgers University alumni People from Millburn, New Jersey Politicians from Newark, New Jersey Lawyers from Newark, New Jersey Weequahic High School alumni 20th-century New Jersey state court judges 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 20th-century members of the New Jersey Legislature