Committee for Public Counsel Services history

The NJOPD provides attorneys for indigent criminal defendants in both the adult and juvenile levels of Superior Court, as the result of expanded jurisdiction called for in late 1967.

In 1968, Fred Nicholas was president of the Beverly Hills Bar Association and Chairman of a Committee on the Future of the Bar.

In 1970, in a tiny one-room office on Beverly Drive, the organization opened with Fred Nicholas as the first president, Stanley Levy as its director, and Ann Dominique Snyder as an assistant.

Van Ness also became the state's first Public Advocate when that agency was created in 1974, and is widely regarded as the architect of the office as it exists today.

In 1975, the L.A. County Bar Association joined the Beverly Hills Bar Association to co-sponsor the organization, and it changed its name to Public Counsel.

In 1985 he ascended to the position of United States District Court Judge, District of NJ, and became the first Latino in New Jersey's history to hold that position.

Reisner served as Acting Public Advocate and continued to serve as Public Defender until 1997.

Judge Rodriguez achieved senior status in 1998.

In mid-1999, as part of the state's move to satisfy federal legislation geared toward speeding the adoption of children placed in foster care, the NJOPD began representing children in so-called "Title 30" cases.

Van Ness passed away in 2007 at the age of 73.