New Videos Help You Prepare For Municipal Court

Got a municipal court appearance scheduled and don’t know what to expect? Don’t worry you’re not alone. 

The New Jersey Judiciary, the authority that oversees the state’s court system, says municipal courts are filled with people who are there for the first time, often representing themselves but have no idea how the system works. So they recently produced three videos that explain the municipal court process.

Judiciary Spokeswoman Tammy Kendig says the videos were produced in-house in their Communications Office and they’re designed to be shown in court the day or evening of a litigant’s appearance.  However, she says litigants can also prepare themselves from home because the videos are also offered on Youtube.

“There’s one for the traffic session. There’s one for the criminal session and one that’s sort of a joint criminal-traffic session.”

Kendig says the new videos also include a caution for undocumented residents because many of them don’t know that pleading guilty to any offense, including a parking, traffic or petty criminal matters, could lead to deportation under federal law. “There’s case law where litigants have said they would have pled differently had they known that this law could affect them.  So this is simply making sure that litigants know about the laws in place before they come to court.”

State Judiciary officials say the videos include all the information a municipal court judge delivers at the beginning of each court session.

Judge Glenn Grant, Acting Administrative Director of the Courts says “our system of justice relies on an informed public. We take very seriously our obligation to inform and educate the public about court procedures as well as the many programs and services we provide.”

You can locate all of the videos at the judiciary’s web page at njcourts.com