SPEECHES, 1956-1982

Summary: Scattered speeches delivered by Byrne spanning his careers as Executive Secretary to Governor Robert B. Meyner, Essex County Prosecutor, Superior Court Judge and Governor of New Jersey. Included in this series are handwritten notes, draft speeches and teleprompter copies of speeches.

Speeches prior to 1970 deal primarily with points of law and criminal procedure. Speeches from the spring and summer of 1973 are mostly the product of Byrne's first gubernatorial campaign, focusing on topics such as corruption and transportation. Speeches from the spring and summer of 1977 focus on the announcement of Byrne's candidacy for a second term as governor and highlight the record of his first term. Included among the 1977 campaign speeches copy of Byrne's remarks from a debate with Raymond Bateman (October 26, 1977).

Among the speeches from Byrne's tenure as governor are both inaugural addresses (January 15, 1974 and January 17, 1978), as well as the Annual Message to the Legislature from 1975, 1977 and 1982.