Morris County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Meg Rodriguez honored for outstanding career advocacy
MORRISTOWN, N.J. (Morris County) — Morris County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Meg Rodriguez has been recognized by the County Prosecutors Association of New Jersey (CPANJ) with the Outstanding Advocacy Over a Career in a Non-Trial Position Award for 2025, honoring her nearly three decades of service in prosecution, mental health initiatives, and criminal justice reform.
Rodriguez received the award on Nov. 24, 2025, during the CPANJ Annual College in Atlantic City, a two-day training program attended by county prosecutors, assistant prosecutors and members of the state Attorney General’s Office.
CAP Rodriguez began her career at the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office in 1997 as a legal assistant, becoming an Assistant Prosecutor the following year. She held roles in the Juvenile Unit and Trial Team before joining the Sex Crimes/Child Endangerment Unit in 2003. Promoted to Supervising Assistant Prosecutor in 2010, she served as legal advisor to the Sexual Assault Response Team and contributed to statewide standards and training for responding to sexual assault victims.
In 2020, Rodriguez transitioned to the Courts & Administration Division, where she helped lead the expansion of the Mental Health Diversion Program and implemented the county’s first Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training program. Morris County has since hosted 15 CIT training sessions and four advanced dispatcher and graduate programs.
Promoted to Chief Assistant Prosecutor in April 2022, Rodriguez now oversees the Courts & Administration Division, including the General Investigations Unit, Pre-Trial Services Unit, expanded Mental Health and Veterans programs, Recovery Court, Firearms Regulations, and the Appellate Unit. She also serves on several statewide and county workgroups, including the Administrative Office of the Courts’ Wellness Court pilot program and the Morris County Mental Health and Substance Use Advisory Board.
Rodriguez also spearheaded Morris County’s ARRIVE Together program, which pairs law enforcement with mental health clinicians. The county’s program now leads New Jersey in the number of mental health referrals made by police.
She is a Certified Criminal Trial Attorney, a Police Training Commission Certified Instructor and a member of the Morris County Bar Association. She was named CIT Coordinator of the Year in 2023 and was recognized as an Honorary Chief of Police by the Morris County Chiefs Association on Dec. 3, 2025.
Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll praised Rodriguez’s leadership in bridging mental health and public safety.
“Throughout her career, CAP Rodriguez has developed a deep understanding of how mental health intersects with law enforcement, and has wholeheartedly immersed herself into this aspect of the justice system,” Carroll said. “CAP Rodriguez fostered Morris County’s ARRIVE Together from its infancy, to now operating in every municipality countywide. It takes a special personality to get behind a new concept in law enforcement, and her commitment and dedication to the program is contagious.”
Carroll said Rodriguez has served Morris County for more than 27 years “while also making a difference in the lives of people she has met and worked with.”
Rodriguez said she was honored to receive the recognition.
“I am extremely grateful and humbled to receive these honors from CPANJ and the Morris County Chiefs, and I appreciate the opportunities that Prosecutor Carroll and First Assistant Prosecutor Maggie Calderwood have given me to work with both the law enforcement and the mental health provider communities,” she said. “I look forward to continuing these partnerships to help improve responses to and care for those in crisis.”
Rodriguez credited her colleagues, CIT staff, mental health professionals and community partners for their support, noting their “dedication is without compare.”
