Legal Resources

The Judiciary, or NJ court system, is one of the three branches of government in New Jersey (the other two are the Legislature and the Executive Branch).  There is a unified statewide court system with several different kinds of courts.  The courts include the New Jersey Supreme Court; The Superior Court, which includes the Appellate Division; Tax Court; and the Municipal Courts.

The New Jersey Supreme Court, often referred to as the “court of last resort”, is the state’s highest appellate court.  Supreme Court decisions and oral arguments help lay the foundation for interpreting and applying state laws.

The Appellate Division of the Superior Court hear appeals from trial courts, tax court, and administrative agencies.  The Appellate Division of the Superior Court is an intermediate appellate court.  The Supreme Court of New Jersey is highest appellate court in the state. 

The Superior Court is often called the “trial court” because it is where criminal, civil, and family law trials are conducted.  There is a Superior Court in each of New Jersey’s 21 counties.  The Superior Court Clerk’s Office manages several statewide functions for the Judiciary including court record storage and retrieval, uncontested foreclosures, judgement liens, and attorney registration.

The Tax Court resolves disputes involving local property taxes, state income taxes, homestead rebates, and sales and business taxes.   

The Municipal Courts is where most of the cases filed in New Jersey’s courts are heard.  The municipals courts hear a variety of types of cases including motor-vehicle offenses, minor criminal offenses known as disorderly persons offenses.  Cases involving hunting, fishing, and boating laws and minor disputes between neighbors are also heard at the municipal courts.  These courts are operated by the city, township, or borough in which the court is located. 

The New Jersey Supreme Court, often referred to as the “court of last resort”, is the state’s highest appellate court.  Supreme Court decisions and oral arguments help lay the foundation for interpreting and applying state laws.

• The Supreme Court is made up of the Chief Justice and six associate justices.  The current Chief Justice is Stuart Rabner, who served as the New Jersey Attorney General, chief council to Governor John Corzine, and as a Federal Prosecutor at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey. 
• The Chief Justice also serves as the administrative head of the court system overseeing management of the State’s lower courts. As such, The Rules Governing the Courts of the State of New Jersey are promulgated by the Supreme Court.  Full-text of these rules, which also include the Rules of Professional Conduct, can be found on the court's website.  In addition, the NJ State Library has the Gann Law Books print addition of the rules, which provides annotations and the history of the rules.  The library has a collection of the Gann Law Books going back to 1969, as well as additional print materials dating back further.  

• In addition to hearing cases, there are a number of Supreme Court Committees that focus on a specific area of the Judicial system.  There are committees on Judicial Conduct,  Professional Ethics, Civil Practice, Criminal Practice, Family Practice, and a variety of other topics.  
• Some of the proceedings before the Supreme Court can be watched on a webcast.   
• Recent opinions of the Supreme Court are found on the NJ Courts website, as are recent correspondence of the Court.  For older opinions and correspondence, the NJ State Library provides public access to Lexis and Westlaw, a variety of Court Reporters in print.  We have a small collection of Supreme Court Cases on microfilm.  
• The NJ Courts website provides a number of forms for Supreme Court proceedings.