John William Griggs (July 10, 1849 – November 28, 1927) was an American lawyer and Republican Party politician who served as the 29th Governor of New Jersey from 1896 to 1898 and the 43rd United States Attorney General from 1898 to 1901.

As Governor, Griggs gained a reputation for siding with "the little guy" in conflicts between impoverished workers and their employers; he was also an advocate of civil rights for African-Americans.

Future New Jersey Attorney General Robert H. McCarter praised Griggs as an excellent mediator, known for his "wonderful power of clearing up difficulties that arose in the course of protracted trials.

[2] Despite his age, he was appointed to several committees and played a key role in drafting the election laws under a recently approved set of constitutional amendments.

In 1888, Griggs was a delegate-at-large to the Republican National Convention from New Jersey, as part of a slate supporting favorite son William Walter Phelps.

"[2] He charged the Democratic Party and nominee Alexander T. McGill of Jersey City with eleven years of corruption and voter fraud.

[2][3] In his speech, he called for "a restriction in the volume of legislation," especially the growing trend of municipal incorporation, and reforms protecting citizens against injuries from trolley cars and urban sewer pollution.

[2] As Attorney General, Griggs's chief achievement was arguing the Insular Cases before the Supreme Court, which determined the constitutional status of the lands won in the Spanish–American War.

Griggs was an ardent supporter of the President's imperial policy and had accompanied McKinley and Hobart to Cuba, where they visited Theodore Roosevelt following his victory at the Battle of San Juan Hil.

[2] In the Insular Cases, he leaned heavily on Justice Bradley's decision in Late Corp. of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints v. United States to advance a national view of the Constitution.

[citation needed] He also returned to private legal practice, founding the corporate firm of Griggs, Dill and Harding in New York City.

[2] When the Consolidated National Bank of New York was organized on July 1, 1902, the fourteen directors included Griggs, Henry C. Brewster, George Crocker, Mortimer H. Wagar, and Perry Belmont.

[2] Griggs's niece Elizabeth Alden Curtis Holman was the plaintiff in a 1914 case in United States federal court which successfully challenged forced institutionalization.