Neil M. Cohen
Encyclopedia
Neil M. Cohen is an American
Democratic Party
politician, who served in the New Jersey
General Assembly
from 1994 to 2008 (and also from 1990-1991), where he represented the 20th Legislative District
.
Cohen was hospitalized and placed in psychiatric care on July 24, 2008, after investigators from the New Jersey Attorney General
's office removed a state-issued computer from his legislative office as part of an investigation into claims that the computer had been used to store child pornography. State Senator
Raymond Lesniak
and Assemblyman Joseph Cryan
, who represent the same district and share a common office in Union Township
, notified authorities after staffers had discovered the material on the computer in question.
Cohen resigned from the General Assembly on July 28, 2008, submitting a one-sentence letter of resignation stating "Please accept this letter as my formal resignation from the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey, effective immediately", and offering no explanation for his actions. The resignation was accepted immediately by Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts. Democratic committee members from the district selected Annette Quijano
to fill Cohen's vacancy.
Cohen was indicted for official misconduct (2nd degree), reproduction of child pornography (2nd degree), distribution of child pornography (2nd degree), and possession of child pornography (4th degree). In a plea agreement, the state dropped the official misconduct charge and three of four child pornography counts, and on April 12, 2010, Cohen pleaded guilty to the charge of endangering the welfare of a child by distributing child pornography. Initially facing up to 30 years imprisonment, state Attorney General Paula Dow
is seeking a five year prison term for Cohen as well his disbarment.
from 1994-1995.
Cohen served in the Assembly on the Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee (as Chair) and the Labor Committee. As Assemblyman, Cohen sponsored measures establishing Vietnam Veterans Remembrance Day and Holocaust Remembrance Day
programs in New Jersey. He was the co-sponsor of a ban on semi-automatic firearm
s enacted by the Administration of Governor of New Jersey
James Florio
, and was one of only three Democrats
to oppose the Florio Administration's income tax increase.
Cohen served on the Union County
Board of Chosen Freeholders
from 1988 to 1990. He is an attorney with the firm of Gill & Cohen, P.C. together with fellow Assemblywoman Nia Gill
of the 34th Legislative District. Cohen was an aide in 1976 to the Deputy Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
. From 1979—1981, he was a trial attorney in the Office of the Public Defender.
Cohen received a B.A.
from Athens College (now Athens State University
) in History and was awarded a J.D.
from the Howard University
. he was born in Newark
. Cohen is Jewish and has been a resident of Roselle, New Jersey
.
and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly
. The other representatives from the 20th District for the 2008-2009 Legislative Session are:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
politician, who served in the New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
General Assembly
New Jersey General Assembly
The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature.Since the election of 1967 , the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for a term of two years, each representing districts with average...
from 1994 to 2008 (and also from 1990-1991), where he represented the 20th Legislative District
20th Legislative District (New Jersey)
New Jersey's 20th Legislative District is one of 40 in the state, covering the Union County municipalities of Elizabeth City, Kenilworth Borough, Roselle Borough and Union Township...
.
Cohen was hospitalized and placed in psychiatric care on July 24, 2008, after investigators from the New Jersey Attorney General
New Jersey Attorney General
The Attorney General of New Jersey is a member of the executive cabinet of the state. The office is appointed by the Governor of New Jersey and term limited...
's office removed a state-issued computer from his legislative office as part of an investigation into claims that the computer had been used to store child pornography. State Senator
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. From 1844 until 1965 New Jersey's counties elected one Senator, each. Under the 1844 Constitution the term of office was three years. The 1947...
Raymond Lesniak
Raymond Lesniak
Raymond J. "Ray" Lesniak is an American Democratic Party politician, who has been serving in the New Jersey State Senate since 1983, where he represents the 20th Legislative District. Before entering New Jersey's upper house, the Senate, Lesniak served in the General Assembly from 1978 to 1983...
and Assemblyman Joseph Cryan
Joseph Cryan
Joseph Cryan is an American Democratic Party politician, who has served in the New Jersey General Assembly since 2002, where he represents the 20th Legislative District...
, who represent the same district and share a common office in Union Township
Union Township, Union County, New Jersey
Union is a Township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. In the 18th century, the area that is now Union was then called Connecticut Farms...
, notified authorities after staffers had discovered the material on the computer in question.
Cohen resigned from the General Assembly on July 28, 2008, submitting a one-sentence letter of resignation stating "Please accept this letter as my formal resignation from the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey, effective immediately", and offering no explanation for his actions. The resignation was accepted immediately by Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts. Democratic committee members from the district selected Annette Quijano
Annette Quijano
Annette Quijano is an American Democratic Party politician, who was selected by Union County Democrats to fill a vacancy to represent the 20th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly and has since been re-elected twice to her Assembly seat. Quijano succeeds Neil M...
to fill Cohen's vacancy.
Cohen was indicted for official misconduct (2nd degree), reproduction of child pornography (2nd degree), distribution of child pornography (2nd degree), and possession of child pornography (4th degree). In a plea agreement, the state dropped the official misconduct charge and three of four child pornography counts, and on April 12, 2010, Cohen pleaded guilty to the charge of endangering the welfare of a child by distributing child pornography. Initially facing up to 30 years imprisonment, state Attorney General Paula Dow
Paula Dow
Paula T. Dow is the 58th and current Attorney General of New Jersey, appointed by incoming Governor Chris Christie. Her nomination to a full term was confirmed by the New Jersey Senate in February 2010. She is the first African American woman to be attorney general in state history.-Biography:Dow...
is seeking a five year prison term for Cohen as well his disbarment.
Biography
Cohen served in the Assembly as Deputy Majority Leader from 2002 until his resignation, was the Deputy Minority Leader from 1996-2001 and was Minority WhipWhip (politics)
A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
from 1994-1995.
Cohen served in the Assembly on the Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee (as Chair) and the Labor Committee. As Assemblyman, Cohen sponsored measures establishing Vietnam Veterans Remembrance Day and Holocaust Remembrance Day
Yom HaShoah
Yom HaZikaron laShoah ve-laG'vurah , known colloquially in Israel and abroad as Yom HaShoah and in English as Holocaust Remembrance Day, or Holocaust Day, is observed as Israel's day of commemoration for the approximately six million Jews and five million others who perished in the...
programs in New Jersey. He was the co-sponsor of a ban on semi-automatic firearm
Semi-automatic firearm
A semi-automatic, or self-loading firearm is a weapon which performs all steps necessary to prepare the weapon to fire again after firing—assuming cartridges remain in the weapon's feed device or magazine...
s enacted by the Administration of Governor of New Jersey
Governor of New Jersey
The Office of the Governor of New Jersey is the executive branch for the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of Governor is an elected position, for which elected officials serve four year terms. While individual politicians may serve as many terms as they can be elected to, Governors cannot be...
James Florio
James Florio
James Joseph "Jim" Florio is a Democratic politician who served as the 49th Governor of New Jersey from 1990 to 1994, the first Italian American to hold the position...
, and was one of only three Democrats
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
to oppose the Florio Administration's income tax increase.
Cohen served on the Union County
Union County, New Jersey
Union County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 536,499. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Elizabeth. Union County ranks 93rd among the highest-income counties in the United States. It also ranks 74th in...
Board of Chosen Freeholders
Board of Chosen Freeholders
In New Jersey, the Boards of Chosen Freeholders are the county legislatures in each of that state's 21 counties.- Origin :New Jersey's system of naming county legislators "freeholders" is unique in the United States...
from 1988 to 1990. He is an attorney with the firm of Gill & Cohen, P.C. together with fellow Assemblywoman Nia Gill
Nia Gill
Nia H. Gill is an American Democratic Party politician, who has been serving in the New Jersey State Senate since 2002, where she represents the 34th Legislative District....
of the 34th Legislative District. Cohen was an aide in 1976 to the Deputy Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection is a government agency in the U.S. state of New Jersey that is responsible for managing the state's natural resources and addressing issues related to pollution...
. From 1979—1981, he was a trial attorney in the Office of the Public Defender.
Cohen received a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from Athens College (now Athens State University
Athens State University
Athens State University, located in Athens, Alabama, USA, is a two-year upper level university. Athens State is the only two-year upper level university in the state of Alabama. Thirty-three different majors are offered to junior and senior students....
) in History and was awarded a J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
from the Howard University
Howard University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
. he was born in Newark
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
. Cohen is Jewish and has been a resident of Roselle, New Jersey
Roselle, New Jersey
Roselle is a Borough located in Union County in the state of New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 21,085....
.
District 20
Each of the forty districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey SenateNew 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. From 1844 until 1965 New Jersey's counties elected one Senator, each. Under the 1844 Constitution the term of office was three years. The 1947...
and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly
New Jersey General Assembly
The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature.Since the election of 1967 , the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for a term of two years, each representing districts with average...
. The other representatives from the 20th District for the 2008-2009 Legislative Session are:
- Senator Raymond LesniakRaymond LesniakRaymond J. "Ray" Lesniak is an American Democratic Party politician, who has been serving in the New Jersey State Senate since 1983, where he represents the 20th Legislative District. Before entering New Jersey's upper house, the Senate, Lesniak served in the General Assembly from 1978 to 1983...
, and - Assemblyman Joseph CryanJoseph CryanJoseph Cryan is an American Democratic Party politician, who has served in the New Jersey General Assembly since 2002, where he represents the 20th Legislative District...
External links
- Assemblyman Cohen's legislative web page, New Jersey LegislatureNew Jersey LegislatureThe 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 the Senate...
- New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure forms
- District 20 Webpage
- Assembly Member Neil M. Cohen, Project Vote SmartProject Vote SmartProject Vote Smart is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States...
- New Jersey Voter Information Biography for 2003 Race