Biography
Sills graduated from Perth Amboy High School in 1934. He received a B.A. degree from Rutgers University in 1938 and a law degree at Harvard Law School in 1941. He joined the law firm of David T. Wilentz, former Attorney General of New Jersey, from 1941 to 1950. From 1950 to 1962, he was a partner in the Perth Amboy firm of Wilentz, Goldman, Spitzer & Sills.
Sills was appointed by Governor Richard J. Hughes as Attorney General of New Jersey. He was confirmed by the New Jersey Senate and sworn in on January 16, 1962, the day of Hughes's inauguration. As Attorney General in the two Hughes administrations, Sills championed civil rights and strong gun control legislation. He was nonetheless criticized by civil rights groups for defending a warrantless search for stolen guns by 300 heavily armed New Jersey State Police and National Guardsmen during the 1967 Plainfield riots. He also came under fire from the American Civil Liberties Union for writing a memorandum in the wake of the 1967 Newark riots encouraging state police to compile detailed dossiers on people taking part in demonstrations.
After leaving office, Sills founded his own firm based in Newark, New Jersey, Sills, Beck, Cummis, Radin, Tischman & Zuckerman (now known as Sills Cummis & Gross). He represented James Florio during the recount for the 1981 gubernatorial election. In 1982 he died of a stroke at the age of 65.
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by David D. Furman |
Attorney General of New Jersey 1962 – 1970 |
Succeeded by George F. Kugler, Jr. |
Read more about this topic: Arthur J. Sills
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