Stanley Carlton Van Ness (February 28, 1933 – September 26, 2007)[1] was an American jurist who worked for a number of state agencies in New Jersey, US.
[1][2] He was the third African American to reach cabinet-level status in New Jersey.
[1] In the early 1950s, he graduated from Rutgers University, subsequently serving in the Air Force.
[1] Van Ness graduated Rutgers Law School in 1963, then becoming an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey.
[1] In 1969, Hughes chose Van Ness to lead the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender.