History of New Jersey Courts

Court records in New Jersey date back to the original minutes at District Court’s first location in New Brunswick on December 22, 1789. It was later in 1869 that a separate justice for each district was either elected or appointed and given the same power as Supreme Court justices in their respective jurisdiction. In 1891 the Court of Appeals was established to relieve the caseload for the Supreme Court.

The Historical Society of New Jersey proudly celebrates the long history of its judiciary traditions as do the many law libraries in the state.

New Jersey Court Records Availability

Rutgers Law School in Camden has maintained court opinions of the Supreme Court, Appellate Division and Tax Court of New Jersey for over three decades. Online New Jersey court records queries can be specified by docket, name, or judgment. Available records include criminal and civil cases from multiple levels of the judiciary system.

Additionally, recent unpublished trial court decisions are made available via the New Jersey Judiciary for six weeks after the trial is completed. The unpublished Appellate opinions can be found for ten days after the ruling from the aforementioned source.

New Jersey Main Court Information

New Jersey is similar to many other places nationally where the Supreme Court is the court of last resort in the state. It is up to the Supreme Court to uphold constitutional law, act as an authority for disciplinary action regarding law professionals, and to review appeals made from lower courts of the state.

The Superior Court of New Jersey is the state’s intermediate appellate court. There are 32 justices serving on the Superior Court and typically form panels of 2 to 4 judges for specific cases. These cases may come from tax courts, trial courts, or the administrative agencies of the state.

The 21 Municipal Courts in New Jersey have limited jurisdiction and preside over criminal and civil cases of less severity such as traffic and motor vehicle violations, misdemeanors, and municipal ordinance violations.

New Jersey Caseload Statistics

The Appellate Division of the Superior Court decides in the region of 6,500 appeals and nearly 10,000 motions annually. The Supreme Court had 910 filings in 2011 and 934 dispositions the same year.