Stanley Carlton Van Ness (February 28, 1933 – September 26, 2007) was an American jurist who worked for a number of state agencies in New Jersey, US. Most notably, he led the
New Jersey Department of the Public Advocate
The New Jersey Department of the Public Advocate was a department within the Executive branch of the government of New Jersey that acted as a voice on behalf of the people of the state. It was responsible to make government "more accountable an ...
as the first Public Advocate in New Jersey and the United States. He was the third African American to reach cabinet-level status in New Jersey.
Van Ness was born in
Somerville, New Jersey
Somerville is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in and the county seat of Somerset County, New Jersey, Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In the early 1950s, he graduated from
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 ...
, subsequently serving in the Air Force. Van Ness graduated
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 ...
in 1963, then becoming an Assistant
United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey
The U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey is the chief federal law enforcement officer in New Jersey. Since March 24, 2025, Alina Habba has served as acting U.S. attorney. The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey has jurisd ...
. A few years later, he became counsel to Governor
Richard J. Hughes
Richard Joseph Hughes (August 10, 1909December 7, 1992) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge. A Democrat, he served as the 45th governor of New Jersey from 1962 to 1970, and as Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1973 to ...
. In 1969, Hughes chose Van Ness to lead the
New Jersey Office of the Public Defender
The New Jersey Office of the Public Defender (OPD) is an agency that is a part of the government of the state of New Jersey, in the United States. The agency provides legal aid to "low income people charged with major crimes."
The agency was fir ...
. When the
New Jersey Department of the Public Advocate
The New Jersey Department of the Public Advocate was a department within the Executive branch of the government of New Jersey that acted as a voice on behalf of the people of the state. It was responsible to make government "more accountable an ...
was established in 1974, Van Ness was placed as its chief, and the Public Defender office was incorporated into the Public Advocate office.