[HISTORY: Adopted by the Council of the City of Salem as Sec. 2:17 of Ch. II of the 1975 Municipal Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Amended 10-16-1995 by Ord. No. 95-15]
A Municipal Court for the City of Salem is established as of January 1, 1949, pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 2B:12-1 et seq., as amended and supplemented.
The name of the Municipal Court shall be the "Municipal Court of the City of Salem."
[Amended 10-16-1995 by Ord. No. 95-15]
The Court shall have a Seal, which shall bear the impress of the name of the Court.
[Amended 10-16-1995 by Ord. No. 95-15]
A. 
There shall be a Municipal Judge of said Municipal court, who shall be appointed by the Council, and who shall serve for a term of three years from the date of appointment and until his or her successor is appointed and qualified and shall have the qualifications set forth in N.J.S.A. 2B:12-7.
B. 
The salary of the Municipal Judge shall be fixed by the Council.
The Municipal Court, and the Municipal Judge thereof, shall have, possess and exercise all of the functions, powers and duties and jurisdiction conferred by the provisions of Chapter 264 of the Laws of 1948,[1] as supplemented and amended or by any other law of the State of New Jersey.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 2A:8-1 et seq.
[Added 10-16-1995 by Ord. No. 95-15]
The Council shall appoint for the Court a Municipal Court Administrator and such other necessary Court employees in accordance with N.J.S.A. 2B:12-10. The Council shall fix the salary for the Municipal Court Administrator and other Court employees.
[Added 10-16-1995 by Ord. No. 95-15; amended 12-30-1996 by Ord. No. 96-25]
The Council shall appoint for the Court a Municipal Court Prosecutor and fix the salary thereof. The appointment shall be for one year. In accordance with P.L. 1996, c. 95, Section 14, the Municipal Court Prosecutor may, under the supervision of the Attorney General of the State of New Jersey or the Salem County Prosecutor, represent the State of New Jersey, the County of Salem or the City of Salem in any matter within the jurisdiction of the Municipal Court of the City of Salem.
[Added 2-7-1994 by Ord. No. 94-01; amended 10-16-1995 by Ord. No. 95-15; 3-16-1998 by Ord. No. 98-3]
A. 
There shall be a Municipal Court Public Defender for the Court. The Municipal Court Public Defender shall be an attorney at law licensed to practice in the State of New Jersey. The Municipal Court Public Defender shall be appointed by resolution of the Council. The term of appointment shall be for one year, with the salary fixed by the Council.
B. 
The Municipal Public Defender shall represent all indigent defendants charged with a crime in the Municipal Court of the City of Salem specified in N.J.S.A. 2B:12-18; or if, in the opinion of the Municipal Court, there is a likelihood that the defendant, if convicted of any other offense, will be subject to imprisonment or other consequence of magnitude, the Municipal Court Public Defender shall represent such indigent defendant.
[Added 3-21-1994 by Ord. No. 94-05; amended 3-16-1998 by Ord. No. 98-3]
A. 
The Judge of the Municipal Court of the City of Salem is authorized to make decisions as to which defendants are indigent and entitled to the services of the Municipal Court Public Defender, and after any defendant is adjudged indigent, the Public Defender shall represent said defendant.
B. 
The Municipal Court shall charge a fee of $200.00 per application for the Public Defender. The fee may be waived, in whole or in part, only upon a clear and convincing showing that the application fee represents an unreasonable burden upon the person seeking representation. The Municipal Court Judge shall make the determination on the ability to pay the fee and the determination of indigence. The Municipal Court may permit a person to pay the application fee over a specific period of time not to exceed four months.
C. 
The application fee shall be deposited in a dedicated fund which shall be used exclusively to meet the costs of providing the service of the Municipal Court Public Defender, including, when required, expert and lay investigation and testimony expenses under Subsection D below. The dedicated fund shall be administered by the Chief Financial Officer of the city.
D. 
All necessary services and facilities of representation, including both expert and lay investigation and testimony, as well as other preparations, shall be provided in every case where the Municipal Court Public Defender is assigned to represent an indigent defendant, upon the effective date of N.J.S.A. 2B:24-6.
[Added 3-16-1998 by Ord. No. 98-3]
A. 
Within 30 days of the conclusion of services rendered by the Municipal Court Public Defender to a person who qualified for such services, the Public Defender shall file a statement of the reasonable value of the services rendered to such defendant with the Municipal Court Administrator. In determining the amount of the services rendered, the Public Defender shall use the same rate or rates as the State Office of the Public Defender bills clients at that time. The statement shall include the name and address of the defendant, the docket number or numbers of the case, a brief description of the charges against the defendant and the date or dates the services were rendered.
B. 
Within 30 days of the receipt of the statement from the Public Defender required by Subsection A above, the Municipal Court Administrator shall prepare a notice of lien form as provided for in N.J.S.A. 2B:24-13(b), which shall include the name and last known address of the defendant (or parents or legal guardian of the defendant where the defendant is under the age of 18 years), the value of services provided by the Public Defender, as well as any fees or expenses incurred pursuant to § 14-9D above, and forward the same to the City Attorney.
C. 
Within 30 days of the receipt of the notice of lien form from the Municipal Court Administrator required by Subsection B above, the City Attorney shall file the notice of lien with the Clerk of the Superior Court, claiming a lien in favor of the City of Salem on any property to which the defendant in question shall have or acquire any interest in for a period of 10 years from such filing, with the same force and effect of a judgment, in accordance with N.J.S.A. 2B:24-13(b). Within 10 days of the filing of the notice of lien, the City Attorney shall send by certified mail, or serve personally, a copy of the notice with a statement of the date of the filing to or upon the defendant at the defendant's last known address. If the City Attorney shall fail to give notice, the lien shall be void.
D. 
The City Attorney is authorized to compromise and settle any such lien whenever the financial circumstances of the person receiving the services are such that, in the judgment of the City Attorney, the best interest of the city will be served by compromise and settlement. Upon payment, in full or by compromise and settlement, the City Attorney is authorized to discharge the lien in question and shall promptly forward such payment to the Chief Financial Officer of the City for deposit into the dedicated fund referenced in § 14-9C above.