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{{Short description|American jurist and politician (1879–1941)}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name=William A. Stevens
|office = 29th [[Attorney General of New Jersey]]
|term_start = 1929
|term_end = 1935
|governor = [[Morgan F. Larson]]
|predecessor = [[Edward L. Katzenbach]]
|successor = [[David T. Wilentz]]
|office1 = President of the [[New Jersey Senate]]
|term_start1 = 1928
|term_end1 = 1929
|predecessor1 = Francis B. Davis
|successor1 = [[Thomas A. Mathis]]
|office2 = Member of the<br>[[New Jersey Senate]]<br>from [[Monmouth County, New Jersey|Monmouth County]]
|term_start2 = 1919
|term_end2 = 1929
|predecessor2 = [[Henry E. Ackerson Jr.]]
|successor2 = E. Donald Sterner
|alma_mater = [[The College of New Jersey|State Normal School]]<br>[[New York Law School]] (L.L.B.)
|birth_date = July 19, 1879
|birth_place = [[Stapleton Heights, Staten Island]], [[New York City]]
|death_date = {{death date and age|1941|03|09|1879|07|19}}
|death_place = [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]]
}}
'''William Asher Stevens''' (July 19, 1879 – March 9, 1941) was an American jurist and [[United States Republican Party|Republican Party]] politician who served as President of the [[New Jersey Senate]] and [[New Jersey Attorney General]]. As Attorney General he conducted the early phase of the state's investigation into the [[Lindbergh kidnapping]].

==Early life==

Stevens was born in [[Stapleton Heights, Staten Island]] in 1879. In his youth he moved with his parents to [[Long Branch, New Jersey]], where he graduated from Chattle High School in 1897 (since renamed as [[Long Branch High School]]). He studied at the State Normal School (now [[The College of New Jersey]]) in [[Trenton, New Jersey|Trenton]] and then entered the law office of Public Utility Commission President [[John W. Slocum]]. He attended [[New York Law School]], receiving a [[Bachelor of Laws]] degree in 1901, and was admitted to the New Jersey Bar the following year.<ref name=OAG>{{cite web |url=http://www.nj.gov/oag/oag/ag_1929-1934_stevens_bio.htm |title=Official bio |access-date=2008-12-30 |publisher=Office of the [[Attorney General of New Jersey]]}}</ref><ref name=Obit>{{cite news |title= W.A. Stevens Dies; Ex-Jersey Official |work=[[The New York Times]] |page=17 |date=1941-03-10 |access-date=2008-12-30 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1941/03/10/archives/wa-stevens-dies-exjersey-official-former-attorney-general-had.html }}</ref>

==Career==

In 1912, when Long Branch adopted the [[Walsh Act (New Jersey)|commission]] form of government, Stevens was named City Solicitor. He served until 1921, when he was appointed [[Monmouth County, New Jersey|Monmouth County]] Solicitor.

His political career began in 1919 when he was elected to fill an unexpired term in the [[New Jersey Senate]]. 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 Moore]] was out of the state.<ref name=Obit/>

In 1929, Governor [[Morgan F. Larson]] appointed him to a five-year term as [[New Jersey Attorney General]]. When the [[Lindbergh kidnapping]] occurred in March 1932, Stevens took personal charge of the case, since [[Hunterdon County, New Jersey|Hunterdon County]], where the crime took place, had no prosecutor at the time. This paved the way for Stevens' successor, [[David T. Wilentz]], to lead the prosecution of [[Bruno Hauptmann]] in the 1935 trial.<ref>{{cite news |first=Barbara |last=Gill |title=Lindbergh kidnapping rocked the world 50 years ago |work=[[The Hunterdon County Democrat]] |year=1981 |access-date=2008-12-30 |url=http://www.nj.com/lindbergh/hunterdon/index.ssf?/lindbergh/stories/demcovr.html }}</ref>

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.<ref name=Obit/>

After his tenure as Attorney General he returned to Monmouth County to serve as solicitor for [[Deal, New Jersey|Deal]], [[West Long Branch, New Jersey|West Long Branch]], [[Little Silver, New Jersey|Little Silver]], and [[Rumson, New Jersey|Rumson]]. He was also a partner in the law firm of Applegate, Stevens, Foster, & Reussille in [[Red Bank, New Jersey|Red Bank]].<ref name=Obit/>

Stevens died in 1941 at the [[Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania|University of Pennsylvania Hospital]] in [[Philadelphia]] after undergoing a brain operation. He was 61.<ref name=Obit/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{succession box
|before=[[Francis B. Davis]]
|title=President of the [[New Jersey Senate]]
|years=1928
|after= [[Thomas A. Mathis]]}}
{{s-legal}}
{{succession box
|title= [[Attorney General of New Jersey]]
|before=[[Edward L. Katzenbach]]
|after=[[David T. Wilentz]]
|years=1929 – 1934}}
{{s-end}}

{{Presidents of the New Jersey Senate}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, William A.}}
[[Category:1879 births]]
[[Category:1941 deaths]]
[[Category:Long Branch High School alumni]]
[[Category:People from Stapleton Heights, Staten Island]]
[[Category:Politicians from Long Branch, New Jersey]]
[[Category:New York Law School alumni]]
[[Category:Lawyers from Monmouth County, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Republican Party New Jersey state senators]]
[[Category:Presidents of the New Jersey Senate]]
[[Category:New Jersey attorneys general]]
[[Category:The College of New Jersey alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century American lawyers]]
[[Category:21st-century American lawyers]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the New Jersey Legislature]]

William A. Stevens - Revision history

imported>Alansohn: refine categories; add tags (via WP:JWB)