Newark Municipal Court

Newark Municipal Court cases in Essex County, Newark, NJ

Newark Municipal Court is a municipal court of limited jurisdiction serving the City of Newark, New Jersey. It handles motor vehicle and parking offenses, DWI, municipal ordinance and housing/code violations, and minor criminal matters such as disorderly persons and petty disorderly persons offenses. The court also conducts preliminary proceedings in indictable criminal cases occurring in Newark, including taking complaints, determining probable cause, issuing warrants or summonses, setting bail, and holding first appearances, before those cases are sent to the Essex County Superior Court. When the Superior Court is closed, municipal judges may issue temporary restraining orders in domestic violence matters. The court does not hear civil lawsuits, landlord-tenant cases, or Family Part matters; those are heard in the Superior Court.

Newark Municipal Court Contact and Location Information

Services and Case Types Handled in Newark Municipal Court

Newark Municipal Court serves the public by handling:
- Case types: traffic and parking offenses; DWI; driver-license/insurance violations; municipal ordinance and code cases (housing, health, noise, zoning); and disorderly persons/petty disorderly persons offenses (e.g., simple assault, harassment, shoplifting under statutory thresholds).
- Core services: intake of complaints/citizen filings; scheduling arraignments, pretrial conferences, and bench trials; pleas and sentencing; issuance of summonses and warrants.
- Protective orders: issuance of temporary restraining or no-contact orders where authorized (including after-hours domestic-violence TROs) and setting release conditions.
- Administration: fines, surcharges, payment plans, community service, and compliance monitoring; interpreters, ADA accommodations, remote appearances, and mediation for minor disputes; records and certified dispositions.

Jury services are not provided; jury trials occur in the Superior Court. Appeals from municipal court judgments are filed with the Superior Court.