Municipal Court

Help with signing into the Zoom court can be found under “ZOOM Court Instructions” on the court’s main page. If you have not already given your email address and phone number to the court, please call us at 609-296-7241 with that information.

Please remember that although you are not in the court room, this is a court session and order shall be maintained. Please do not drive, smoke, move around, eat, lay down, or do anything on the video that you would not normally do in a court room. Please stay muted unless being called upon.

Once you sign into Zoom and have entered the proper information, you will be put in a “waiting room”. Please make sure that your device is named with your first and last name so we can handle your case quicker. The court staff will let you into the “Main Session” which is where the Judge will hold court.

Most people will be put in a breakout room with either the prosecutor, public defender, or other staff, depending on your case. If you are a truancy or code enforcement case, you will be put in a breakout room with the appropriate official. Truancy cases, because they deal with juveniles, will be dealt with one at a time. We ask for your patience.

When you are moved to a breakout room, please remain muted until called upon. There are many people in these rooms, and you must stay muted so that it moves quickly. When you are called, you can hit the unmute button or hit * 6 if you are on a phone. Once you have completed your conversation, you can move back to the main session by hitting “leave breakout room”, where you will wait to be heard by the judge. Phone participants will be moved automatically.

Once you have completed your case with the judge, you may leave the session.

If the judge postpones your case, please make note of the new date, in most cases, he announces the new date during court.

If your case is disposed and fines/costs have been assessed, you will be notified by the court shortly with a payment arrangement. If you are unable to follow that payment arrangement, you should contact the court immediately.

A NG plea can be entered in person, by telephone, by email, by fax, by regular mail, or online New Jersey Courts website.  Njmcdirect.com .  Please have your summons or complaint number available when entering your plea.

The Court accepts cash, checks, money orders or Credit Cards.  Checks require a complaint/summons written on the check. A phone number of the signer.  You can also mail your summons to the Municipal Court with a check or money order.  For certain violations, you can pay online by visiting the New Jersey Courts website.  Njmcdirect.com

You will have the opportunity to speak to the prosecutor on your court date. A Not Guilty plea must be entered with the Municipal Court prior to this. If you are represented by an attorney, your attorney will speak to the prosecutor on your behalf.

The Municipal Court does not assess points to your drivers license.  That is a function of the Motor Vehicle Commission.  You should contact your state MVC to find out how many points are assessed. For defendants with a NJ license, you must contact the NJ  Motor Vehicle Commission. Nj.gov/mvc

This must be done through njcourt.gov. Click on Self-Represented tab at the top then expunge your court record.

Download your day in court brochure.

Mediation is an informal and confidential process which allows the parties to meet with an impartial mediator who has received training to assist them in resolving their dispute. The Municipal Court Mediation (MCM) program provides court users an alternative to having certain cases heard and decided by a judge (traditional litigation). As a neutral party, a mediator helps court users discuss the issues of their case and explore options to resolve the dispute themselves with a mutually acceptable solution. The mediation process can be a less expensive, informal, and a more meaningful alternative to the traditional trial process, largely because of the efforts of trained volunteers and the resolution being decided by the participants. The typical types of cases handled through the intervention of a trained mediator include, but are not limited to trespass, harassment, creating a disturbance, animal or pet complaints, annoying phone calls, property disputes, non-payment of bills, bad checks, and neighbor disputes.

Bail is money deposited to assure a defendant’s future appearances in court. Once deposited, bail money can secure a defendant’s release from jail or recall a warrant for their arrest so that they will be able to appear at all scheduled court dates. The person who posts the bail is known as the surety. The surety can either be the defendant themself or another person posting bail on their behalf. If the defendant appears as scheduled, when the case is concluded bail money can either be returned or applied to any fines if the defendant is found guilty. However, bail can only be returned to the person who posted it, so unless the surety is present, the money cannot be returned or applied to fines.

If you receive a failure to appear notice, it will contain a new date for you to either pay or appear in court. It is NOT a warrant for your arrest. It is to notify you that you missed a scheduled court date or that the date you had to pay or answer to a ticket or complaint has passed. Read the failure to appear notice thoroughly and contact the court with any further questions.

If you are unable to make your fine or ticket payment, please call the court office at 609-296-7241. If you simply stop paying and don’t advise us of your situation, we are not able to offer any solutions. To avoid any possible penalties, call us as soon as you know that you will not be able to make your payment.

Defendants facing the possibilities of jailtime, a loss of driving privileges, or fines of more than $800 are entitled to representation by a Public Defender if the Judge determines that the defendant cannot afford a lawyer. A financial questionnaire is available in the forms tab please fill out and forward on or before you court date. The Judge will review your application, determine if you qualify for the services of a Public Defender, please note that even though the services for the Public Defender are free there is an application fee up to $200.