Leonard H. Kaser

Leonard H. Kaser was an American lawyer and politician who represented the 3rd legislative district in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1968 to 1969 as a Republican.

Biography

Kaser was born on October 9, 1931, in the Franklinville section of Franklin Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey, and graduated from Clayton High School. He received a bachelor's degree from La Salle College and completed his legal education at Georgetown University Law Center. A resident of Williamstown in Monroe Township, he practiced law as a partner at Kaser & Kagan.
In 1967 the 3rd legislative district was redrawn into four sub-districts with Kaser standing for election in seat 3B as a Republican. Kaser would be elected alongside Walter E. Pedersen on the Republican slate with 25.3% of the vote, narrowly ahead of Democrat LeRoy P. Wooster with 25%.
Kaser introduced a bill just days before leaving office that would allow divorce after a couple had been separated for a year, seeking to replace the standing legislation that requires one of the two members of the marriage to have "willfully deserted" the other for two years before a divorce could be granted by the state, which was heavily opposed by the state's Catholic population due to its "no-fault" nature.
Kaser chose not to stand for re-election in 1969, being succeeded by James M. Turner and instead returned to practicing law where he specialized in challenging the state's divorce laws in court.