William Asher Stevens was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jurist and Republican Party politician who served as President of the
New Jersey SenateThe 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
New Jersey Attorney GeneralThe 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...
. As Attorney General he conducted the early phase of the state's investigation into the
Lindbergh kidnappingThe kidnapping of Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr., was the abduction of the son of aviator Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh. The toddler, 18 months old at the time, was abducted from his family home in East Amwell, New Jersey, near the town of Hopewell, New Jersey, on the evening of...
.
Early life
Stevens was born in
Stapleton Heights, Staten IslandStapleton Heights is a neighborhood in northeastern Staten Island, New York, part of New York City in the United States...
in 1879. In his youth he moved with his parents to
Long Branch, New JerseyLong Branch is a city in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 30,719.Long Branch was formed on April 11, 1867, as the Long Branch Commission, from portions of Ocean Township...
, where he graduated from Chattle High School in 1897. He studied at the State Normal School (now
The College of New JerseyThe College of New Jersey, abbreviated TCNJ, is a public, coeducational university located in Ewing Township, New Jersey, a suburb of Trenton....
) in
TrentonTrenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...
and then entered the law office of Public Utility Commission President John W. Slocum. He attended
New York Law SchoolNew York Law School is a private law school in the TriBeCa neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. New York Law School is one of the oldest independent law schools in the United States. The school is located within four blocks of all major courts in Manhattan. In 2011, New York Law School...
, receiving a
Bachelor of LawsThe Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...
degree in 1901, and was admitted to the New Jersey Bar the following year.
Career
In 1912, when Long Branch adopted the
commissionThe Walsh Act is legislation in the U.S. state of New Jersey that permits municipalities to adopt a non-partisan commission form of government. The legislation was signed by Governor of New Jersey Woodrow Wilson on April 25, 1911. The commissions in Walsh Act municipalities are composed of either...
form of government, Stevens was named City Solicitor. He served until 1921, when he was appointed
Monmouth CountyMonmouth County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey, within the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 630,380, up from 615,301 at the 2000 census. Its county seat is Freehold Borough. The most populous municipality is Middletown Township with...
Solicitor.
His political career began in 1919 when he was elected to fill an unexpired term in the
New Jersey SenateThe 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...
. He was re-elected to a full term in 1920 and again in 1923 and 1926. He was selected by his fellow Senate Republicans as floor leader in 1923. In 1928 he became President of the Senate, serving as Acting Governor while Governor
A. Harry MooreArthur Harry Moore was a Democrat who was the 39th Governors of New Jersey, serving three terms between 1926 and 1941. He was the longest-serving New Jersey Governor in the 20th century and the only New Jersey Governor elected to serve three separate non-consecutive terms...
was out of the state.
In 1999 Governor Morgan F. Larson appointed him to a five-year term as
New Jersey Attorney GeneralThe 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...
. When the
Lindbergh kidnappingThe kidnapping of Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr., was the abduction of the son of aviator Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh. The toddler, 18 months old at the time, was abducted from his family home in East Amwell, New Jersey, near the town of Hopewell, New Jersey, on the evening of...
occurred in March 1932, Stevens took personal charge of the case, since
Hunterdon County Hunterdon County is a county located in the western section of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 128,349. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Flemington....
, where the crime took place, had no prosecutor at the time. This paved the way for Stevens' successor,
David T. WilentzDavid Theodore Wilentz was the Attorney General of New Jersey from 1934 to 1944. In 1935 he successfully prosecuted Bruno Hauptmann in the Lindbergh kidnapping trial...
, to lead the prosecution of
Bruno HauptmannBruno Richard Hauptmann was a German ex-convict sentenced to death for the abduction and murder of the 20-month-old son of Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh. The Lindbergh kidnapping became known as "The Crime of the Century".-Background:Hauptmann was born in Kamenz in the German Empire,...
in the 1935 trial.
While Attorney General Stevens also led the fight against pollution of New Jersey beaches by garbage dumped at sea. He succeeded in forcing New York authorities to dispose of garbage by incineration.
After his tenure as Attorney General he returned to Monmouth County to serve as solicitor for
DealDeal is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the borough population was 750.Deal was incorporated as a borough on March 7, 1898, by an act of the New Jersey Legislature, from portions of Ocean Township....
,
West Long BranchWest Long Branch is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 8,097. It is the home of Monmouth University....
,
Little SilverLittle Silver is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 5,950.Little Silver was established with a Kings Land Grant in 1663 and settled in 1667...
, and
RumsonRumson is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 7,122.Rumson was formed as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 15, 1907, from portions of Shrewsbury Township, based on the results of a...
. He was also a partner in the law firm of Applegate, Stevens, Foster, & Reussille in
Red Bank-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 11,844 people, 5,201 households, and 2,501 families residing in the borough. The population density was 6,639.1 people per square mile . There were 5,450 housing units at an average density of 3,055.0 per square mile...
.
Stevens died in 1941 at the
University of Pennsylvania HospitalThe Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania is a hospital affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania Health System located in the University City section of West Philadelphia. The hospital was founded at its current location in 1874 by the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine,...
in Philadelphia after undergoing a brain operation. He was 61.