You won't hear the word felony in a New Jersey courtroom. The state groups charges like this:

• Indictable crimes match the felonies of other states. The state ranks them by degree, and first degree is the most serious. The Superior Court hears them in its Law Division, Criminal Part. A conviction can mean state prison: between 10 and 20 years at first degree, between 5 and 10 at second degree, between 3 and 5 at third degree, and up to 18 months at fourth degree.
• Disorderly persons offenses are like misdemeanors in other states. Petty disorderly persons offenses are one step lower. Municipal courts hear both, plus traffic, local ordinance, and fish and game cases.
• Juvenile cases belong to the Family Part.
• Federal crimes belong to the U.S. District Court, 402 East State Street, Room 2020, Trenton, NJ 08608, 609-989-2065.

A crime charge often starts with paperwork in a local court. Without a judge's finding of probable cause, the complaint is dismissed. A crime can also be knocked down to a disorderly persons offense. When that happens, the municipal court takes the case back.

The Superior Court sits in the county courthouse, 413 Second Street, Belvidere, NJ 07823. Mail goes to P.O. Box 900, Belvidere, NJ 07823. Every office shares one number, 908-750-8100, so ask for the extension you need:

• Criminal Division and Criminal Records Room: ext. 13130
• Pretrial Services: ext. 13140
• Criminal Division Manager: ext. 13720
• Family Division: ext. 13930. Juvenile: ext. 13470. Domestic violence: ext. 13480
• Finance (Central Fee Office): ext. 13070
• Adult Probation: ext. 13960
• Recovery Court: ext. 13150
• Jury Management: ext. 13010. Transcripts: ext. 13050

Offices keep business hours, so call for exact times. The court belongs to the Somerset/Hunterdon/Warren vicinage. The jail is a separate building, at 175 County Route 519 South, Belvidere, NJ 07823-1950.

Ten municipal courts cover every town. Several towns share one court, so find your town in this list:

• Phillipsburg & Alpha Boro Municipal Court (Phillipsburg and Alpha): 1001 East Boulevard, Alpha, NJ 08865, 908-454-3211. Office hours are weekdays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and court meets every Wednesday at 11:00 a.m.
• Pohatcong Municipal Court (Pohatcong, Greenwich and, since June 2024, Lopatcong): 50 Municipal Drive, Phillipsburg, NJ 08865, 908-454-6121, ext. 325. Office hours are weekdays 9:00am to 4:30pm. Court sits the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Thursday.
• Shared Municipal Court (Mansfield, Oxford, Washington Borough and Washington Township): 100 Port Murray Road, Port Murray, NJ 07865, 908-689-7066. Office hours are weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Mansfield cases are the 1st and 3rd Tuesday, and the other three towns the 2nd and 4th Tuesday. Cases with a lawyer start at 10:00 a.m., and people speaking for themselves at 11:00 a.m.
• Municipal Court of North Warren (Hope, Hardwick and White): 407 County Route 611, Hope, NJ 07844, 908-459-5800. Phones are answered Monday to Thursday, 9 AM to 3 PM. Court is the first three Mondays at 11am, and most cases are heard by video.
• Belvidere Municipal Court (Belvidere, Franklin, Frelinghuysen, Harmony and Liberty): 908-475-5331, ext. 8. Its own cases are the 1st, 2nd and 4th Thursday, and the four other towns the 1st and 3rd Thursday.
• Hackettstown Municipal Court: 908-852-0688, 2nd and 3rd Wednesday.
• Independence Municipal Court: 908-637-4124, 2nd and 4th Thursday. Alternative number: 908-637-6684.
• Allamuchy Municipal Court (Allamuchy and Knowlton): 908-852-6667, 1st and 3rd Tuesday.
• Blairstown Municipal Court (shared with Frankford in Sussex County): 973-948-4045, 4th Thursday.

Ask the court for the room and time before your date, since schedules can shift.

For someone held on a complaint-warrant, the first steps come fast:

1. Probable cause check. Within 12 hours, a judicial officer looks over the complaint.
2. Risk report. Pretrial Services prepares a Public Safety Assessment, a scored look at flight and new-arrest risk.
3. First appearance. The deadline is 48 hours after jail intake. For indictable charges, it happens at one central courtroom with a judge the Chief Justice names (R. 3:4-2). The judge reads the charges, explains rights, and can assign the Office of the Public Defender.
4. Release ruling. The judge chooses release on a promise, release with rules, or, after a hearing, detention.

If the prosecutor asks to keep the person in jail, the detention hearing usually happens at this same appearance. A person charged on a summons is not jailed. Their first court date comes within 60 days. For hearing details, call Pretrial Services at the courthouse, 413 Second Street, Belvidere, NJ 07823, 908-750-8100, ext. 13140.

Town court cases stay close to home and move faster than Superior Court cases. A municipal prosecutor handles the state's side. A judge, not a jury, decides guilt, since jury trials are for charges carrying more than six months.

• Disorderly persons: jail for six months at most, and a fine of no more than $1000.
• A petty disorderly persons offense can bring up to 30 days and a fine of up to $500.
• Many traffic tickets can be paid, or a guilty plea entered, on NJMCdirect. Non-traffic complaints can be found with the Municipal Complaint System.

Two second-chance programs exist. Conditional discharge helps people facing their first small drug charge. It allows up to three years of supervision, it can be used only once, and the fee is $75. Conditional dismissal is for other first-time disorderly persons charges. It means one year of probation monitoring, can be granted once, and carries a $75 fee that can be waived. It is closed to DWI, domestic violence and gang cases. Call the town court named on the ticket or complaint to ask about either one. The vicinage's Municipal Division office is at 413 Second Street, Belvidere, NJ 07823, 908-332-7700, ext. 13230.

An indictable case moves through Superior Court in this order:

1. First appearance and the release ruling.
2. Pre-indictment conference, set within 45 days. This meeting is a common time to discuss a plea or a diversion program.
3. Grand jury. County residents, 23 at most, weigh the proof in secret. An indictment, the formal charge, needs at least 12 votes.
4. Arraignment. Within two weeks of the indictment, the charges are read formally in court.
5. Status conferences. Each case is limited to two.
6. Pretrial conference. After it, a plea deal usually needs the presiding judge's OK.
7. Trial. A guilty or not guilty verdict needs all jurors on board.
8. Sentencing, where the judge gives reasons and signs a judgment of conviction.

Pretrial Intervention (PTI) can end a case with no conviction for many first-time defendants. People can apply on the Judiciary website or in person at the Criminal Division, before an indictment if possible. The fee is $75 and can be waived. The judge can pause prosecution for a stretch of up to 36 months. Completing all the conditions means the charges are dismissed (N.J.S.A. 2C:43-12). Fines can reach $10,000 for fourth degree, $15,000 for third, $150,000 for second and $200,000 for first.

The most serious charges carry stricter rules at each step:

• No Early Release Act (NERA). For crimes like murder, robbery, carjacking, sexual assault, aggravated assault and burglary, parole is off limits until 85 percent of the term is done. Up to 5 years of parole supervision follow a first degree term, and 3 years follow a second degree term (N.J.S.A. 2C:43-7.2).
• Graves Act. Using or carrying a gun during certain crimes triggers a parole-free minimum. The judge picks the larger of two minimums, 42 months or half the full sentence.
• Detention. Murder, and any crime that can carry life in prison, starts with a presumption that the accused will be held until trial. The defense can rebut that by showing release would work.
• Domestic violence. Prosecutors may ask to hold the accused, and the 10 percent cash bail choice is barred.
• Treatment courts. Recovery Court is meant for non-violent defendants, so a violent charge usually rules it out.

The County Prosecutor's Office, 413 Second Street, Belvidere, NJ 07823, 908-475-6287, brings indictable cases. That office decides if a case has the proof to go forward. Local cases are argued by municipal prosecutors.

For indictable charges, a free lawyer comes from the Office of the Public Defender, 314 Front Street, Belvidere, NJ 07823, 908-475-5183. The person fills out the 5A form, and the court decides if they qualify. Read the public defender's application guide for the steps.

Municipal courts can appoint a public defender too, when a conviction could mean jail, losing driving privileges, or penalties above $800, and the person's money is limited. The town may charge up to $200 to apply, though the judge can reduce it or waive it. Ask the clerk of that town's court for the form.

Start with the state's free lookups:

• Promis/Gavel public access is the search for Superior Court criminal cases, with files reaching back to 1980.
• Municipal Court Case Search finds a town court ticket or complaint number.
• The Judiciary's find a case page points to each search.

The searches can ask for a security check, so a phone call may be faster. The Criminal Division gives Superior Court dates by phone at 908-750-8100, ext. 13130. Its records room takes mail at P.O. Box 900, Belvidere, NJ 07823. For a town court date, call the town court. When the town that wrote a ticket is a mystery, the Judiciary's line is 609-421-6100, which also handles copies of court records.

Deputies from the Sheriff's Office, 413 Second Street, Belvidere, NJ 07823, serve warrants countywide, alongside town police and the State Police. Call the Sheriff at 908-475-6309 to ask whether one is open. Tips on wanted people go to 908-475-6328. The State Police list fugitives on New Jersey's Most Wanted. A municipal court can tell you about its own warrants by phone. To clear a warrant, talk with a lawyer first. Then turn yourself in at the Correctional Center, 175 County Route 519 South, Belvidere, NJ 07823-1950, or phone the court that issued it and request a fresh date. For Superior Court warrants, reach the Criminal Division in the same courthouse, 908-750-8100, ext. 13130.

Federal crimes here fall under the Trenton office of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. The clerk is at 402 East State Street, Room 2020, Trenton, NJ 08608, 609-989-2065, weekdays 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

• A magistrate judge sees the person soon after arrest, often that day. The judge covers the charges, rights and a lawyer.
• Release is decided at a detention hearing (18 U.S.C. 3142(f)).
• U.S. Pretrial Services interviews the person for the court. Its office is at 402 East State Street, Room 100, Trenton, NJ 08608, 609-989-2056.
• The U.S. Marshals Service holds anyone kept in custody and brings them to court. Its Trenton office is at 402 East State Street, Trenton, NJ 08608, 609-989-2069.
• PACER holds the filings. To find someone already in a federal prison, use the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

No matter what ICE does, the New Jersey charges move ahead. The detainer matters mainly on the day of release:

1. ICE starts with a written detainer on Form I-247A. With it, ICE wants the jail to hold onto the person for up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
2. ICE agents then pick the person up.
3. From there, the ICE Newark Field Office takes over, at 970 Broad St., 11th Floor, Newark, NJ 07102, 973-776-3274. People are often held at the Elizabeth Contract Detention Facility, 625 Evans Street, Elizabeth, NJ 07201, 908-282-5700.
4. The ICE Online Detainee Locator shows where they are.

Under New Jersey's Immigrant Trust Directive, the jail plays a smaller part. Keeping someone past release on a detainer is allowed only in three situations. The first covers violent or serious offenses, whether pending or in the person's past record. The second is a conviction for some other indictable crime in the five years before. In the third, a federal judge has issued a removal order that is final and has sent it to the jail. Such a hold stops at 11:59 pm that same day. Counties are barred from 287(g) deals, which once let local officers act as immigration agents. ICE can interview a jailed person only with signed, written consent. A lawyer can explain how a plea might affect immigration status.

A state prison sentence is run by the New Jersey Department of Corrections. Until transport, the county jail keeps the person. Then the state moves them to a reception center for medical, mental health and substance use checks. Points on a classification sheet decide the custody level. The levels, strictest first, are Close, Maximum, Medium, Gang Minimum, Full Minimum and Community. A classification committee then picks a prison and reviews the person at least once a year.

• Use the state's incarcerated person search to find them.
• Our New Jersey prisons guide covers each facility.
• Calls home can begin after the prison sets up the person's IPIN number.
• Parole is decided by the State Parole Board, P.O. Box 862, Trenton, NJ 08625, 609-292-4257.

Teen cases begin in the Family Part, not in adult court. Call its juvenile unit at the courthouse, 413 Second Street, Belvidere, NJ 07823, 908-750-8100, ext. 13470. A youth who is held stays at the Morris County Juvenile Detention Center, 460 West Hanover Avenue, Morris Township, NJ 07960, 973-285-2959.

• Adult court is possible only for a youth who was 15 or older at the time. The charge must also be one of the gravest crimes, such as homicide or carjacking.
• The prosecutor has 60 days from getting the complaint to ask for that move, and the Family Part holds a hearing.
• Until then, the youth stays in a juvenile center unless a judge finds good cause.
• Parents are responsible for the cost of the youth's defense.

For a lawyer, call the Office of the Public Defender, 314 Front Street, Belvidere, NJ 07823, 908-475-5183.

Under the state constitution, the justice system owes victims fair, kind and respectful treatment, and a seat at public hearings (N.J. Const. art. I, para. 22). More rights come from the Crime Victims Bill of Rights (N.J.S.A. 52:4B-36). Among them are updates on the case, a chance to address the judge in person before sentencing, protection from threats, and payment for losses when possible.

• Victim-Witness Advocacy, County Prosecutor's Office, 413 Second Street, Belvidere, NJ 07823, 908-475-6284
• Victims of Crime Compensation Office: 877-658-2221 or NJVictims.org. Two deadlines apply: the crime must reach police within 9 months, and the application has a 5-year limit. It can cover treatment and therapy bills, missed paychecks and burial costs.
• VINE custody alerts: 877-846-3465 or VINELink

Help with a restraining order starts at the Family Division's domestic violence unit, 413 Second Street, Belvidere, NJ 07823, 908-750-8100, ext. 13480.