[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Dunellen as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 11-1-1948]
Under and by virtue of the power and authority granted the governing body by Chapter 264, Public Laws of 1948,[1] a Municipal Court is hereby established in the Borough of Dunellen to be known as the "Municipal Court of Dunellen."
[1]
Editor's Note: This statute (N.J.S.A. 2A:8-1 et seq.) was repealed by L. 1993, c. 293. See now N.J.S.A. 2B:12-1 et seq.
The Court shall have a seal which shall bear the impress of the name of the Court.
The Court shall be presided over by a Municipal Judge. Said Municipal Judge shall be appointed by the Mayor with the advice and consent of the Council of Dunellen, shall have the qualifications required by law and shall serve for the term of three years from the date of his appointment and until his successor has been appointed and qualified.
The compensation of said Municipal Judge and such clerks or other personnel as may be required and appointed by the governing body in connection therewith shall be such annual salaries as are now or may hereafter be provided in the Borough Salary Ordinance, its supplements and amendments, which salary shall be in lieu of any and all other fees.
Every Municipal Judge appointed by the governing body shall be a resident of this state and shall be an attorney at law or who is qualified under any rule of the Court.
Each Municipal Judge of said Municipal Court shall, before entering upon the duties of his office, take and subscribe to an oath in substantially the same manner as provided in N.J.S.A. 41:1-3.
The governing body may, by ordinance or resolution, at any time, provide for an Administrator or other necessary assistants for said Municipal Court and provide for their compensation. The governing body may likewise designate by ordinance or resolution, any officer or employee of the municipality to serve as Administrator of the Municipal Court with or without additional compensation.
Whenever the Municipal Judge of said Municipal Court shall be unable to sit as such Municipal Judge, he may designate any other Municipal Judge of any municipal court or an attorney at law to sit for him temporarily and hold the Municipal Court, provided that such designation shall be made in writing and shall be filed in said Court, whereupon any such person so designated, while sitting temporarily, shall have all of the powers of the Municipal Judge of said Court.
All fines, as well as costs and fees charged against the parties when collected, shall become municipal funds, unless otherwise provided by law, and shall be turned over to the Borough Treasurer.
[Adopted 11-3-1997 by Ord. No. 97.08]
The office of Public Defender for the Municipal Court of the Borough of Dunellen is hereby established pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2B:24-1 et seq. Said office shall be subject to the administrative supervision of the Municipal Court Judge.
The Public Defender shall represent such indigent defendants in the Municipal Court as shall be designated by the Court and shall perform such other duties as may be required by law.
The Public Defender shall be appointed by the Mayor with the advice and consent of the Council to serve for a term of one year commencing January 1 of each year and until a successor shall have been appointed and qualified. Any vacancy in the office of Public Defender shall be filled for the balance of the unexpired term. The term of the first Public Defender appointed shall terminate on the January 1 immediately following his appointment and qualification.
The Public Defender shall be an attorney at law of the State of New Jersey and shall possess such other qualifications as may be required by law.
Any person applying for representation by the Public Defender shall, upon the filing of any such application, pay an application fee of not more than $200, but only in an amount necessary to pay the costs of Municipal Public Defender services; provided, however, that the Municipal Court may waive the application fee, in whole or in part, if it is determined by the Court, in its discretion, that imposition of the application fee would impose an unreasonable financial burden on the person seeking representation.
The office of Municipal Prosecutor for the Municipal Court of the Borough of Dunellen is hereby reconstituted pursuant to and in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 2B:12-27. All other provisions of Borough ordinances relating to the Office of Municipal Prosecutor not inconsistent herewith shall remain in full force and effect.
Where consistent with the context in which used in this article, words importing the singular shall include the plural; words importing the plural shall include the singular; and, words importing one gender shall include all other genders.
Captions contained in this article have been inserted only for the purpose of facilitating reference to the various sections, and are not intended and shall not be utilized to construe the intent and meaning of the text of any section.