New Jersey Criminal Defense Attorney Blog

Old Bridge Municipal Court

Location: 1 Old Bridge Plaza
Old Bridge, NJ 08857

Phone: (732) 721-5600 x2605
Fax: (732) 607-7946

Old Bridge Police issue a ton of traffic tickets, mostly for speeding, along Rtes. 9, 18, 34 and 516. A large amount of DWI and minor criminal arrests including drug possession are also made in Old Bridge.

Colts Neck Twp. Municipal Court

Location: 125 Cedar Drive (right next to Town Hall)
Phone: (732) 431-1799
Fax: (732) 409-6438

Court Sessions: Fridays at 9:00 a.m.

The judge in Colts Neck is the Honorable Richard Thompson, J.M.C. The prosecutor is Senator Michael Bennett. Colts Neck generates a lot of traffic tickets, especially speeding and following too closely (tailgating). A fair share of DWI and minor drug arrests are also made in Colts Neck Township.

Wall Township Municipal Court

Location: 2700 Allaire Rd
Wall, NJ 07719

Phone: (732) 449-4666
Fax: (732) 449-8992

Court Sessions: Tuesdays at 8:30 a.m. & 1:00 p.m.

Wall Township police issue a ton of speeding and other tickets along Rt 34, Rt 35 and the other highways that cross the town. A lot of DWI and minor criminal arrests, including drug possession, are also made in Wall Township. The judge is the Honorable E. Thomas Brennan, Jr. The prosecutor is John Lane, Esq. The court administrator is Gail W. Connors.

Lakewood Township Municipal Court

Location: Municipal Building
231 Third Street
Lakewood, NJ 08701
Phone: (732) 364-2500
Fax: (732) 901-3647

The judge in Lakewood court is the Honorable Scott Basen, J.M.C. The prosecutors are Bob Rothstein and Valter Must. Lakewood sees a lot of DWI and minor criminal arrests as well as traffic and speeding tickets.

Jamesburg Borough Municipal Court

Location:Borough of Jamesburg
131 Perrineville Road
Jamesburg, New Jersey 08831

Phone: (732) 521-0614 ext. 104
Fax: (732) 521-3455

Court sessions are held the first and third Tuesday of the month at 5:30 p.m. Jamesburg is a small borough surrounded by Monroe Twp. It generally has a low speed limit, resulting in a great deal of speeding tickets. A fair share of DWI and drug possession arrests are made in Jamesburg Borough.

Howell Township Municipal Court

Location: 300 Old Tavern Rd.
Howell Township, NJ 07731

Mailing Address: Howell Township Court
P.O. Box 580
Howell, NJ 07731

Phone: (732) 938-4848
Fax: (732) 938-7054

The Judge is the Honorable Allen S. Kaplan, J.M.C. The prosecutor is John Rihacek, Esq. and Sean Keane, Esq. The court administrator is Elizabeth McGee. Howell has become one of the busiest municipal courts in Monmouth County. Night sessions at the court can be overwhelming, with a multi-hour waiting line to speak with the prosecutor. Howell Township Police as well as State Police issue a heavy amount of speeding tickets and other traffic tickets in Howell. A large amount of DWI and minor criminal arrests are also made in Howell.

Millstone Township Municipal Court

Location: 215 Millstone Road
Millstone Twp., NJ 08510

Phone: (732) 446-6219
Fax: (732) 446-4853

The judge in Millstone Courts is the Honorable Francis F.X. Foley, J.M.C. The prosecutor is Richard Kelly, Esq. The Court Administrator is Diane Canzanella, CMCA. Millstone Township does not have its own police department. The New Jersey State Police have jurisdiction over the area and issue a large amount of speeding and other traffic tickets. Also a fair amount of minor drug possession arrests resulting from car searches.

Mercer County Superior Court
Mailing Address:
PO Box 8068
Trenton, NJ 08608
Street Address:
209 S Broad Street
Trenton, NJ 08608

East Windsor Municipal Court
Mailing Address:
80 One Mile Road, East
Windsor, NJ 08520
Phone Number: (609) 448-3228

Ewing Township Municipal Court
Mailing Address:
2 Jake Garzio Drive
Ewing, NJ
Phone Number: (609) 883-2900

Hamilton Township
Municipal Court
Mailing Address:
1270 Whitehorse Ave Cn00150
Hamilton, NJ
Phone Number: (609) 581-4071

Hightstown Municipal Court
Mailing Address:
148 N Main Street
Hightstown, NJ
Phone Number: (609) 490-5105

Hopewell Borough Municipal Court
Mailing Address:
PO Box 343
Hopewell, NJ
Phone Number: (609) 466-0968

Hopewell Township Municipal Court
Mailing Address:
201 Washington Crossing
Pennington Road Titusville, NJ
Phone Number: (609) 737-1035

Lawrence Township Municipal Court
Mailing Address:
Municipal Square P.O. Box 6006 Lawrenceville, NJ
Phone Number: (609) 844-7159

Pennington Borough Municipal Court
Mailing Address:
30 North Main Street
Pennington, NJ
Phone Number: (609) 737-1016

Princeton Borough Municipal Court
Mailing Address:
PO Box 390 1 Monument Dr
Princeton, NJ
Phone Number: (609) 497-7600

Princeton Township Municipal Court
Mailing Address:
400 Witherspoon St.
Princeton Township, NJ
Phone Number: (609) 924-5042

Trenton Municipal Court
Mailing Address:
225 N Clinton Ave
PO Box 1360 Trenton, NJ
Phone Number: (609) 989-3700

Washington Township Municipal Court
Mailing Address:
1117 Route 130
Robbinsville, NJ
Phone Number: (609) 259-7085

West Windsor Municipal Court
Mailing Address:
20 Municipal Drive PO Box 38 Princeton Junction, NJ
Phone Number: (609) 799-0915

It was held in State v. Brennan, 229 N.J. Super. 342 (App. Div. 1988) that when a police officer neglects to sign a summons and complaint within the statute of limitations period, that failure constitutes a fatal defect to the ability of the State to proceed. However, Brennan was overruled by State v. Fisher, 180 N.J. 462 (2004) which held that an officer may correct a technically invalid ticket by signing it even after the limitations period. Therefore, an unsigned ticket generally does not mean that your ticket will be automatically dismissed.

As most people know, the "Statute of Limitations" in a criminal or traffic matter is the time frame within which the police may charge you with an offense. In most traffic offenses, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 39:5-3, the Statute of Limitations is 30 days. However there are exceptions, including:

N.J.S.A. 39:3-40: Driving while suspended or on revoked list has a 90 days Statute of Limitations.
N.J.S.A. 39:4-50: DUI-DWI (driving while intoxicated) has a 90 days Statute of Limitations.
N.J.S.A. 39:4-129 Leaving the scene of accident has a 1 year Statute of Limitations.
N.J.S.A. 39:3-12 Illegally obtaining a Driver's License has a 1 year Statute of Limitations.
N.J.S.A. 39:3-34 Applying for a Driver's License while suspended has a 1 year Statute of Limitations.
N.J.S.A. 39:3-37 False App. on a Driver's License or allowing an unlicensed driver to operate vehicle or lending license to another has a 1 year Statute of Limitations.
N.J.S.A. 39:10-24 Misrepresentation on title has a 1 year Statute of Limitations.
N.J.S.A. 39:6B-2 Driving with No Insurance has a 6 months Statute of Limitations
39: 5-31 DMV Director of Magistrate can revoke license for willful
violations even if Statute of Limitations has passed
The applicable limitations period for the issuance of a DWI complaint is 90 days. N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.

The Law Office of Anthony J. Vecchio, LLC focuses on criminal defense, appeals, DWI/DUI, traffic and juvenile matters in central New Jersey. The courts we most commonly appear in include:

Ocean County:

Ocean County Superior Court
Ocean County Courthouse
118 Washington Street
Toms River, NJ 08754
(732) 244-2121

Continue reading "NJ Superior and Municipal Court Locations (Ocean County)" »

The Law Office of Anthony J. Vecchio, LLC focuses on criminal defense, appeals, DWI/DUI, traffic and juvenile matters in central New Jersey. The courts we most commonly appear in include:

Monmouth County Courts:

Monmouth County Superior Court
Monmouth County Court House
71 Monument Park
Freehold, NJ 07728-1266
(732) 677-4300

Monmouth County Municipal Courts:

Continue reading "NJ Superior and Municipal Court Locations (Monmouth County)" »

Tailgating (N.J.S.A. 39:4-89) is the second leading cause of car accidents in New Jersey, second only to speeding. Accordingly, New Jersey law is very harsh on those cited for tailgating in the state.

N.J.S.A. provides that: "The driver of a vehicle shall not follow another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent...." This obviously begs the question, how close is too close? Unfortunately, that often comes to a subjective determination by the officer who issued your ticket.

In one published case, Pagano v. McClammy, 159 N.J. Super. 581 (1978), it was held that a defendant who was driving 40 miles p/h and was following another vehicle fro a distance of approximately 15 to 20 feet was tailgating.

A driver convicted of tailgating will be assessed 5 motor vehicle and insurance points. This could easily lead to thousands of dollars in increased insurance premiums and surcharges, if not your being dropped by your insurance company altogether. The fine will be up to $200. You can even be sent to jail for up to 15 days.

It is therefore crucial to retain an attorney experienced in Municipal Court practice, preferably a local lawyer who frequently appears before the judge and prosecutor in the town you were pulled over in.