[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of Franklin 1-2-2006
by Ord. No. 2005-21.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance repealed former Ch. 9, Court, Municipal,
adopted 12-15-1954, as amended.
Under and by virtue of power and authority granted the governing body
by N.J.S.A. 2B:12-1 et seq., as amended and supplemented, a municipal court
is hereby established in the Township of Franklin, to be known as the "Franklin
Township Municipal Court."
The Township Committee of the Township of Franklin is hereby authorized
and directed to enter into such intermunicipal agreement with the Township
of Lopatcong, Warren County, New Jersey, as may be from time to time necessary
for the appointment of all necessary personnel for said Municipal Court and
to provide for their compensation and for such other purpose as may be necessary
for the operation of said Court.
Said Court shall have a Seal, which shall bear the impress of the name
of the Court.
A.
The Court shall be presided over by a Municipal Judge.
Said Judge shall be nominated and appointed as provided by law, shall have
all of the qualifications required by law and shall serve for a term of three
years from the date of his appointment and until his successor has been appointed
and has qualified. Each Judge of said Municipal Court, shall before entering
upon his duties of office, take and subscribe an oath as provided by law.
B.
The Court shall also have a Clerk or Clerks and such
other personnel as may be required for the purposes and proper functioning
of said Court. Said Clerk or Clerks shall be shared with the Lopatcong Municipal
Court and paid directly by the Township of Lopatcong.
A.
The compensation of said Judge and/or other personnel
as may be required and appointed by the governing body in connection with
said court shall be an annual salary fixed by the Township Committed during
the first month of each and every calendar year. All such salaries shall be
fixed by ordinance and shall be in lieu of any and all other fees.
The Judge of this Court shall be a resident of this state and shall
be an attorney at law, duly admitted to practice under the rules of the State
of New Jersey.
The territorial jurisdiction of the Municipal Court of Franklin shall
be the territory embraced within the confines of the Township of Franklin,
Warren County, New Jersey.
This Municipal Court and the Judge or Judges thereof should have jurisdiction
of the offenses designated by N.J.S.A. 2B:12-16 et seq., occurring within
the territorial jurisdiction of the Court.
Each person applying for representation by the Municipal Public Defender
shall pay an application fee of $200, but only in an amount necessary to pay
the costs of the Municipal Public Defender. The Court may require that the
fee be paid once or in installments over a period of four months or less.
The Judge of the Municipal Court may waive the fee or part thereof,
but only upon clear and convincing evidence showing that the application fee
represents an unreasonable burden on the person seeking representation by
the Municipal Public Defender.
There shall be a Municipal Public Defender appointed by the Township
Committee of the Township of Franklin as provided by law in the case of a
shared Municipal Court. The Municipal Public Defender shall serve the Franklin
Township Municipal Court.
The Municipal Public Defender shall be an attorney at law of the State
of New Jersey on good standing in accordance with N.J.S.A. 2B:24-1 et seq.
The Municipal Public Defender does not have to be a resident of the Township
of Franklin.
The term of the office of the Municipal Public Defender shall be appointed
for terms of one year commencing on January 1 of each year and terminating
on December 31 of that same year. The Municipal Public Defender may continue
to serve in office pending reappointment or appointment of a successor.
It shall be the duties of the Municipal Public Defender to represent,
except in the case of temporary unavailability or conflict, any defendant
charged with a municipal charge as specified in N.J.S.A. 2B:24-1 et seq.,
or, if in the opinion of the Municipal Judge, there is a likelihood that the
defendant if convicted of any other offense will be subject to imprisonment
or other consequence of magnitude and other duties as set forth in the statute
governing municipal public defenders.
The Municipal Public Defender shall be compensated in the manner established
by ordinance, resolution or as otherwise established according to law in the
case of a shared municipal court.
A.
The funds collected pursuant to § 9-9 above shall be deposited in a dedicated fund administered by the Chief Financial Offices of the Township of Franklin. Such funds shall be used exclusively to meet the costs incurred in providing the services of a Municipal Public Defender, including, when required, expert and lay investigation and testimony.
B.
With respect to each defendant entitled to and seeking
representation by the Municipal Public Defender, the Municipal Court shall
make an investigation of the financial status of each defendant and/or the
defendant's legal guardians or parents of the defendant if the defendant
is under the age of 18 years. The investigation shall include the authority
to require a defendant and/or the defendant's legal guardians or parents,
if the defendant is under the age of 18 years, to execute and deliver written
requests or authorizations required under applicable law to provide the Court
with access to records of public or private sources, otherwise confidential,
as may be of aid in evaluating eligibility.
The attorney for the Township of Franklin shall be permitted, in the
name of the Franklin Township Municipal Court, to collect any money due to
the Court by way of reimbursement for services rendered by a Municipal Public
Defender as provided by law.
