The Essex County Municipal Court Lawyers at the Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall are exceptionally skilled in the defense of all municipal court matters. In fact, most of the attorneys on our team are former prosecutors who have been defending those charged with traffic and disorderly persons offenses for over a decade. We are prepared to provide you with the benefit of our knowledge in a free initial consultation.All of the municipal courts in the county are overseen by the Essex Vicinage Municipal Division. This entity also conducts Special Remand Court under the supervision of the Judge Anthony Frasca. The court is designed to dispense with indictable criminal offenses that the county prosecutor is interested in downgrading and resolving as disorderly persons offense.
The only other municipal court proceedings in Essex County are those that are conducted in the town where the arrest and/or summons took place. Each and every town in the county has its own individual municipal court that hears all traffic violations and disorderly persons offenses issued by the local police department. The motor vehicle violations that are frequently encountered in municipal court include driving while intoxicated (“DWI”), driving without insurance, possession of CDS in a motor vehicle and careless driving. The criminal cases heard in municipal court, termed disorderly persons offenses, are the equivalent of misdemeanors. Charges like harassment, simple assault, possession of less than 50 grams of marijuana, and shoplifting are the more common varieties of disorderly persons offenses.
While none of the charges heard in these courts are felony criminal offenses, they nevertheless can result in imposition of significant penalties. For example, if you are convicted for possessing drugs in your car/truck, your drivers license must be suspended for at least two (2) years, on top of thousands of dollars in financial consequences (e.g. fines, increased insurance rates, and state DMV surcharges). There are many other traffic violations which can result in similar penalties. The ramifications of a conviction for a disorderly persons offense are, likewise, serious. You will have a 2C criminal record that will be available to employers, financial institutions and other third parties. This can obviously have a significant impact on your livelihood and life. As if this were not bad enough, up to six (6) months in the county jail may be imposed at sentencing.
Our attorneys have successfully defended thousands of individuals charged with municipal court violations of all kinds. Our excellent results have tended to be the norm rather than the exception and this is probably a reflection of the unique experience and abilities possessed by the members of our defense team. If you were arrested or charged with any offense that is to be heard in an Essex County Municipal Court, give us a call 24/7 at 973-710-1520 for a free consultation from a lawyer at the firm.
The following is a list of the courts in the county which we serve. Each listing contains helpful information concerning the related municipal court.