The State Court System / Understanding the Court System
Every state has its court system. Some courts handle trials and others review those trials. This article explains how the New Jersey court system works.
Trial Courts in New Jersey
There are two main types of courts: trial courts and appeal courts, also called appellate courts. If you have a legal problem, you start in a trial court. The trial court is where you share facts and proof about your case. The type of proof you can use depends on what kind of case it is. If you are trying to get a restraining order in family court, your hearing may be very short and you might only show police photos. If you are on trial for murder, you may show a lot of evidence, like weapons, papers, witnesses, and experts. Some trial cases have a jury, but most do not and are decided by a judge.
New Jersey has a few different trial courts:
- Tax Courts – only hear cases about taxes.
- Municipal Courts – decide traffic violations and other minor offenses. These courts are for one town or a small group of towns. Some criminal cases start here and then transfer to Superior Court.
- Superior Courts – handle all other trial-level cases. There is a Superior Court in every county.
Every county Superior Court has three divisions: the Criminal Division, the Law Division, and the Chancery Division. The Criminal Division handles serious criminal cases.
Special Civil Part of the Law Division
The Law Division has two parts: a Special Civil Part and a general part.
The Special Civil Part includes:
- Small Claims – hears cases asking for $3,000 or less. For example, someone breaks your window and you need $500 to fix it.
- Special Civil – hears cases asking for $15,000 or less.
- Landlord/Tenant Court – handles cases between renters and landlords.
Law Division’s General Part
The Law Division’s general part hears cases when:
- the person who brought the case wants money, AND
- the case doesn’t fit into any of the other courts listed above.
An example of a case that can appear in the Law Division’s general part is a car accident where someone wants more than $15,000.
The Chancery Division
The Chancery Division has two parts:
- The Family Part – handles things like domestic violence, custody, visitation rights, child support, divorce, and alimony.
- General Equity – handles cases that don’t ask for money. For example, you made a contract with somebody and they don’t follow it. You can ask the Court of General Equity to make them do what they promised.
Appellate Courts
If you or your opponent disagree with the trial court’s decision, you can ask another court to look at the case again. This is called an appeal.
Appellate courts don’t allow new facts or testimony. They only review what happened in the first court. Your attorney will give the court a document, or brief, that explains why you agree or disagree with the result of the original case. Then your attorney will present your position and the judges will ask your attorney questions. The judges will read the old case information and the briefs, hear arguments, and then decide your case.
In New Jersey, the appeals court is called the Appellate Division. It has 32 judges with offices all over the state. Usually, three judges review each case.
New Jersey Supreme Court
The New Jersey Supreme Court is the highest in the state. It has seven judges called Justices. There is one Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. The Chief Justice works on cases just like the others and helps run the state court system. He or she leads groups that suggest changes to the court rules.
The New Jersey Supreme Court hears appeals from the Appellate Division, usually, when:
- Lower courts made different decisions about the same kind of case or problem, and
- The case is about an issue important to the public
The Justices of the Supreme Court make decisions based on the case record. They also listen to arguments from the lawyers on both sides. The Chief Justice and all six Associate Justices hear each case. They have offices all over the state but meet in Trenton.
