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Though New Jersey has one of the largest state populations in America, its court system is quite simple in structure.

The state court system includes municipal courts, a Tax Court, state Superior Court (including trial courts) an Appellate Division, and the New Jersey Supreme Court, the top appellate court in the state.

Supreme Court of New Jersey

New Jersey’s Supreme Court is composed of a chief justice (presently Stuart Rabner) and six associate justices. Each justice is appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate for an initial term of seven years. If reappointed after the initial term, they are granted tenure and can serve until they reach the mandatory retirement age of 70.

The chief justice also serves as administrative head of the New Jersey court system, overseeing the management of all state courts.

Appeals may be made to the Supreme Court if there is a split decision in the Appellate Division of Superior Court, or if a substantial constitutional issue is raised by the case. Death penalty cases are automatically appealed directly to the Supreme Court from the trial court in which the sentence was handed down. The Supreme Court may also hear other cases as it chooses. The Supreme Court also has exclusive authority over the regulation of the practice of law in New Jersey, sets the terms for admission to the state bar and regulates the professional conduct of attorneys.

The court hears arguments in the Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex in the state capital of Trenton.

Supreme Court oral arguments can be heard via Webcast, and the Rutgers Newark Law School maintains an archive of Supreme Court Webcasts. Reports of Supreme Court opinions can be found online, as well.

New Jersey's Appellate Court Division

The Appellate Division of Superior Court is New Jersey’s intermediate appellate court. It is comprised of 33 judges who sit in two- and three-judge panels chosen from “parts” of four or five judges.

Each Appellate Division part is administered by a presiding judge; presently Edwin H. Stern is the court’s presiding judge for administration. The chambers of Appellate Division judges are located in Atlantic City, Hackensack, Jersey City Morristown, New Brunswick, Springfield, Trenton, West Long branch and Westmont. Arguments are heard in courtrooms located in Atlantic City, Elizabeth, Hackensack, Morristown, Newark and Trenton.

Appellate Division judges hear appeals from Trial Court, Tax Court and state administrative agencies. The division decides about 7,000 appeals and an additional 7,500 motions annually. The court’s standards of review are available in PDF format.

Some appeals are not decided after courtroom hearings. The Civil Appeals Settlement Program is designed to identify early in the process appeals that might possibly be settled without further courtroom appearances. “Sentencing Calendars” also have been created, initially to dispose with appeals in which the sole contended issue is the severity of sentence imposed, and has been expanded to include some other sentencing issues, though the scope of Sentencing Calendars remain quite narrow.

NJ Appellate Division calendars are maintained online, and appeals can be filed electronically. A list of Appellate Division notices to the bar also is maintained online.

New Jersey Trial Courts

Civil, criminal and family court cases are initially heard in New Jersey’s trial courts. Criminal cases include those of a more serious nature, such as assault, theft, robbery, fraud and murder. About 50,000 criminal cases are heard in New Jersey’s Criminal Division of Superior Court each year.

Most civil cases heard in Superior Court involve disputes in which a plaintiff seeks monetary damages or compensation from a defendant. Cases in which the amount in controversy exceeds $15,000 are heard in the Civil Division of Superior Court. Cases in which the amount sought ranges from $3,000 to $15,000 are heard in the Special Civil Part of the Civil Division. Those disputes valued at less than $3,000 are also heard there, but are considered “small claims” cases.

Civil cases in which monetary damages are not being sought are heard in the General Equity Division of Superior Court. Judges there handle non-injury cases such as those involving trade secrets, labor disputes, foreclosures and other matters in which court relief, often in the form of a restraining order, is sought on an emergency basis.

Family law cases, such as those involving divorce, domestic violence, juvenile delinquency, child support, foster care placements and termination of parental rights are heard in the Family Division of Superior Court. About 350,000 such cases are heard annually.

A specialized team of judges, court staff, attorneys and probation officers work in New Jersey’s Adult Drug Court. A branch of the Criminal Division, drug courts deal with nonviolent drug offenders in hopes of reducing criminal activity and fostering rehabilitation.

New Jersey Tax Court

New Jersey’s Tax Court is a venue with limited jurisdiction. Tax Court judges hear appeals of tax decisions made by county boards of taxation. They also hear appeals on decisions handed down by the director of the Division of Taxation on such matters as state income, sales and business taxes, and homestead tax rebates.

Appeals of the Tax Court decisions can reach the Appellate Division of Superior Court.

Tax Court judges are appointed by the governor for initial terms of seven years, and can be reappointed with tenure to serve until age 70, in the same manner as Supreme Court justices.

Tax Court rules are available online. 

New Jersey Municipal Court

A majority of New Jersey residents who find themselves in court, find themselves in Municipal Court. It is here, in a court of fairly limited jurisdiction, that most traffic and parking tickets are resolved, minor criminal offenses (misdemeanors such as simple assault or worthless checks), municipal ordinance offenses (such as animal or building code violations) and other misdeeds such as fish and game law violations are heard.

A Municipal Court has jurisdiction only over cases that occur within the boundaries of its municipality.

While the cases will not be heard in Municipal Court, oftentimes serious criminal offenses including robbery and auto theft might start out as Municipal Court complaints, though they are soon transferred to Superior Court.

Court building addresses and contact information are available online. Traffic law violators can often pay their tickets online without going to court.

United States District Court - District of New Jersey

United States Bankruptcy Court - District of New Jersey

New Jersey Laws - Law database provided by the Rutgers University Law Library.

Tax Court of New Jersey - Provides users with form downloads, current notices, records request information and recent Tax Court opinions.

New Jersey Self-Represented Litigants Information - Self-help information for individuals who will be representing themselves in a New Jersey court.

New Jersey Municipal Court Services - Provides resources to pay tickets online, view case information, contact information, judges and appeals.

New Jersey Courts NJMCdirect - Pay traffic tickets online with your parking or traffic ticket number and license plate number.

New Jersey Supreme Court and Appellate Court Opinions - Listings of the opinions that have been issued by the Supreme Court and Appellate Division of the courts of New Jersey.

New Jersey Court Services - Online services provided by the courts such as Court Video Conferencing and electronic filing of civil cases.

New Jersey Statewide Mediation Program - Information regarding what mediation is and what services are offered in the New Jersey courts.