Rory Eaton

Rory A. Eaton was sworn as an Assistant Prosecutor at the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office in September 2014. Since then, he has worked his way from the Special Litigation Unit arguing appeals, litigating detention motions and handling bench trials, to the Trial Section where he has prosecuted several jury trials to verdict for an array of crimes. Presently, he assists in advising the Organized Crime and Narcotics Task Force and the Fire Investigation Unit in addition to managing countywide civil forfeiture reporting and firearms forfeiture and permitting issues. His current indictable caseload includes a wide variety of offenses ranging from a multi-defendant narcotics distribution network to Arson and Armed Robbery.

Prior to joining the SCPO, Rory served as a Law Clerk to the Honorable Marie E. Lihotz, J.A.D. In that capacity, he researched and wrote bench memoranda concerning issues of criminal law, civil procedure, tax law, administrative law, complex litigation and constitutional law, among other areas. During law school, Rory worked as a Certified Legal Intern at the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office in Pennsylvania, where he assisted in the Juvenile Division and Domestic Violence Unit.

Rory earned his Juris Doctor from Villanova University School of Law in May 2013. During law school, he served as a Managing Editor of Student Works for the Villanova Law Review, which published his Case Note, Driving a Hard Bargain: Accepting Responsibility for a Significant Curtailment of Federal Prosecutorial Discretion in United States v. Divens, 57 Vill. L. Rev. 111 (2012), in fall 2012. For this article, Rory received the VLR’s Scribes Award for Outstanding Legal Writing and Editing. The same year Rory competed as a Finalist in the Theodore L. Reimel Moot Court Competition, where his team was awarded Best Brief.

Earlier, in 2010 Rory earned his B.A. from the College of William and Mary with a Major in English and a Minor in History. Rory grew up on Long Island where he learned from his family the value of hard work, dedication and integrity. Early life lessons from his grandfather, a retired NYPD Detective, and other community role models, set him on the path of public service and toward a career in criminal prosecution.