Delaware Justice Department announces leadership changes

By Craig Anderson

State Attorney General Kathy Jennings announced leadership changes at the Department of Justice last week.

Ms. Jennings said A.J. Roop will serve as the department’s next chief of staff. A seven-year DOJ veteran, Mr. Roop has served as state prosecutor throughout Ms. Jennings’ term, maintaining the department’s high conviction rate in gun cases and guiding the Criminal Division through a litany of high-profile investigations, including several major gang indictments.

He succeeds former chief of staff Rob Coupe, who left the position in December 2022 for the Delaware Department of Technology and Information.

Other changes include:

• Mr. Roop will be succeeded as state prosecutor by Dan Logan, who returns to the Justice Department after serving seven years as the director of programs for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware, where he oversaw prevention and reentry efforts, while maintaining a full criminal caseload.
• As Aaron Goldstein assumes a new role as counsel to the Department of State after seven years as chief deputy attorney general and state solicitor, Ms. Jennings has named Patty Davis to lead the Civil Division as state solicitor. Ms. Davis, who joined the department in 2004, is one of the most experienced civil attorneys in Delaware’s largest law firm, specializing in administrative law and the Freedom of Information Act.
• Ms. Jennings has also announced that Family Division director Abby Rodgers will transition into a role as chief prosecutor for New Castle County. There, she will oversee the Criminal Division’s largest staff cohort and supervise many of Delaware’s most serious felony prosecutions. Ms. Rodgers, who has led the Family Division for six years, is a 16-year DOJ veteran, whose service has included four years as commander of the Child Predator Task Force, along with assignments in the Rape Unit, the Domestic Violence Unit, the Felony Trial Unit and the Misdemeanor Trial Unit.
• Ms. Rodgers will be succeeded by acting Family Division director Sara Reedy. Ms. Reedy, who has worked in the Criminal Division and the Family Division, has served in the Juvenile Delinquency & Truancy Unit since 2016 and has been the assistant head of that section since 2022.

“We’ve been spoiled with an incredibly talented and qualified leadership team from Day One,” said Ms. Jennings in a news release. “Rob Coupe, and his predecessor, Greg Patterson, were phenomenal Chiefs of Staff whom anyone would be hard-pressed to succeed.

“Luckily, we have A.J. Roop, a proven leader in our office who has agreed to take on a big job after serving as the bedrock of the Criminal Division for four years. Staff talent is the DOJ’s greatest asset, and the fact that we’re able to retain, regain, and promote incredible leaders like A.J., Dan, Patty, Abby, and Sara is a boon to our Department and the entire State.”