Municipal Court Changes Allow for Case Resolution Without In-Person Appearance

The public can now ask a prosecutor to review their matters and may be able to resolve their
case without having to appear in person, under a recent change to municipal court operations in
New Jersey.

The Judiciary’s Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) program, which started in mid-May in
approximately 30 municipal courts, allows court users to dispute a charge and provide
information or evidence to municipal prosecutors online.

“These changes are part of a larger effort to make our municipal court system more efficient
and more accessible,” said Chief Justice Stuart Rabner. “Court users should not have to find
childcare or take a day off from work to travel to the courthouse to speak to a prosecutor and try
to resolve traffic offenses or routine matters.”

The ODR program applies to 37 traffic offenses, such as speeding, failure to have an insurance
card, or failure to yield, where defendants commonly provide additional documentation and
seek a reduced charge before pleading guilty.

Court users can make their requests for review to the municipal prosecutor through NJMC
Direct. After reviewing the case, the prosecutor can offer a lesser charge or decline to change
the charge.

If a lesser charge is accepted, the matter will be reviewed by a judge for approval. If approved,
the defendant does not need to go to court.

If the prosecutor declines to offer a lesser charge, or the judge does not approve the new charge,
a hearing date is scheduled for the defendant to appear remotely.

Additional courts will offer the program over the next several weeks as the program expands
statewide.

Under a second change that went into effect on April 27, 400 minor offenses were added to the
Statewide Violations Bureau Schedule. The new offenses include some minor traffic and
parking matters as well as state Fish and Game and Weights and Measures violations. For these,
defendants can plead guilty and pay online without having to go to court.

In one of the Judiciary’s first actions to reduce municipal court appearances to reduce the spread
of COVID-19, the Supreme Court on March 16 relaxed court rules that had required only those
with “undue hardship” to plead guilty by mail to certain offenses in municipal court.

Plea-by-mail does not apply to serious offenses, including those resulting in the likelihood of a
driver’s license suspension, jail time or community service.

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