Jake Hudnut was sworn in as Jersey City's chief municipal prosecutor in 2018 and oversees the city’s Public Safety Division of Quality-of-Life, which he established in 2021.

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Prior to serving as prosecutor, Hudnut built a successful criminal defense law practice. He represented over 500 people charged with crimes and earned many acquittals in front of juries. He is also an adjunct professor of criminal law and emergency management.

 

Since 2018, Hudnut’s work as prosecutor has included:

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  • leading Jersey City’s enforcement of COVID-19 state and local executive orders

 

  • establishing the first Quality-of-Life Unit in the Jersey City Police Department, a problem-oriented policing operation committed to eliminating disorder 

 

  • convening a task force to investigate and prosecute predatory slumlords, polluters, and many other public nuisances

 

  • launching innovative in-court initiatives for victims of domestic violence 

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  • partnering with the state’s attorney general to issue a first-in-the-state policy decriminalizing simple marijuana possession

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