Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings announced the members of her senior staff Wednesday, including a position to focus on reforms to criminal justice and the criminal code.
Alexander S. Mackler, who is currently an Assistant United States Attorney, will serve as the Chief Deputy Attorney General in her administration beginning in May 2019 following active duty with the Army National Guard.
Prior to becoming a federal prosecutor, Mackler was the Deputy Legal Counsel to Vice President Joe Biden. Mackler has held several roles in public service, including as Senator Ted Kaufman’s Deputy Chief of Staff, and as then-Senator Biden’s Press Secretary. He graduated first in his class at William & Mary Law School and received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He and his wife live in Newark with their children. Alex and his family are the founders of the Scott Mackler 5K for ALS, an annual event begun in 1999 that in honor of his father’s fight against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, from which Scott passed in 2013.
“Serving as the Chief Deputy is a difficult and important job in the Department of Justice. I am thrilled that Alex has agreed to take on this critical role. His experience as a legal counsel to Vice President Biden coupled with his prosecutorial experience in the United States Attorney’s Office will help the office make Delaware a safer place for us all to live, work, and raise our families,” Attorney General Jennings said.
Attorney General Jennings also announced that former state Attorney General and former U.S. Attorney Charles Oberly will join DOJ as a senior advisor to the attorney general focusing on reform initiatives involving the criminal justice system.
“I told the people of Delaware — and the people of Delaware told me – that there need to be changes to the criminal justice system that will make it more fair and just while keeping people safe,” Attorney General Jennings said. “I firmly believe that that is a full-time job and I have asked Charlie Oberly to use his experience and knowledge to oversee and coordinate our office’s efforts to work with our prosecutors, with the legislature, with law enforcement, with victims groups, with advocates, with the community, and with the courts to make changes in our state’s criminal justice system to make it more fair”
Attorney General Jennings also announced other leadership positions for DOJ:
- A.J. Roop, who has headed DOJ’s proactive and community-focused Crime Strategies Unit for the last few years, will become State Prosecutor.
- Allison Reardon will continue as State Solicitor, which is head of DOJ”s Civil Division, until her planned retirement in spring 2019. Aaron Goldstein will become State Solicitor at that time. In the meantime, Goldstein, currently Chief Deputy Attorney General will remain in that role for Attorney General Jennings.
- Abigail Layton will continue as director of the Family Division.
- Sonia Augusthy will continue as head of the Office of Civil Rights and Public Trust.
- Gregory Patterson will continue as DOJ’s chief of staff.
“I am thrilled to have all of these friends and colleagues join me. I will rely on their experience to implement the agenda of fairness and justice the people of Delaware are expecting from me,” Attorney General Jennings said.
Attorney General Jennings took her oath privately to begin her term January 1 as required by state law, but plans to hold a public swearing-in ceremony later.