Quick quiz. If you were asked, could you name the types of cases that go before municipal court judges? For one, did you know that hearings in the local court are considered offenses? The most serious crimes are actually referred to as indictable crimes. Criminal charges are heard in Superior Court (state courts located in county seats.)
New Jersey is unlike other states. There’s a common misconception that smaller offenses are considered misdemeanors. Larger crimes are often confused with felony charges. These terms are absent from New Jersey laws. In a future article, we will review the degrees of crimes for your understanding.
Cases Heard in Municipal Court
According to New Jersey’s Municipal Court Statistics, over 6100 court offenses were considered by municipal judges in New Jersey. Little less than half involved non-DWI traffic offenses. This would include speeding tickets, using handheld electronic devices and cruising through red lights and stop signs.
You might be surprised to learn that certain DWI (driving while under the influence) offenses are consider traffic violations. A recent news article cites New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin as the only states that do not consider drunk driving an automatic criminal charge. DWI offenses heard in municipal court account for almost five percent of the total cases that come before municipal judges.
One caveat. If someone is injured or killed by someone driving under the influence, their case will be referred to state court. It then becomes a criminal charge.
Here are some other important things you should know about municipal court:
- Incarceration: Just because it’s called an offense doesn’t mean you can’t go to jail. Municipal court judges are authorized to order incarceration.
- Indictable Crimes: Some indictable offenses actually start off in municipal court. The judge may decide to transfer jurisdiction to the county prosecutor who then determines if the case should be a superior court action. An example of this could mean the difference between a simple assault and aggravated assault case. The latter would be removed from the municipal court level.
- Drug Charges: Drugs charges heard at the local level only involve very small quantities of controlled dangerous substances (CDS) and paraphernalia. Distribution drug charges are never heard in municipal court.
- Restraining Orders: Municipal court judges may order temporary restraining orders. However, final restraining orders are only issued in superior court.
- Local Ordinances: Failure to comply with local ordinances is heard in municipal court. For example, the father of the recent pipeline suspect was accused of operating his friend chicken establishment outside allowable retail business hours.
- Fish and Gaming Laws: Violation of New Jersey’s fish and game laws goes before municipal court judges.
Contact Us
The name of the court where the action is venued is listed on every court summons. The Law Offices of Beninato & Matrafaljo has many years of experience representing individuals in both Municipal and Superior Court. Concerned about a pending matter? Contact us to see how we can be of assistance.
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