Legal landscape note: This article was originally published in 2018 and was reviewed and updated for republication in July 2026. New Jersey law changes frequently.
A summons tells you where to appear, but not what kind of court you are walking into -- and in New Jersey, that difference sets the stakes. A speeding ticket puts you in front of a municipal court judge for an afternoon. A custody dispute or an indictable charge puts you in the Superior Court for months. An appeal puts your case in front of a multi-judge panel that never hears new testimony at all.
New Jersey's court system runs through four main courts. Here is what each one handles, and what to expect if your case lands in one of them.
Municipal -- If you are fighting a traffic ticket or a lesser charge such as possession or shoplifting, you start (and usually finish) in a municipal court. Occasionally a municipal case gets elevated to the Superior Court. Trials in municipal court are bench trials -- decided by a single judge, without a jury. Municipal courts have 'limited jurisdiction': they can only decide cases arising within their own municipality.
Superior -- More serious matters -- indictable criminal charges like burglary, civil lawsuits, divorce and custody, and child-welfare cases -- are heard in the Superior Court. The Superior Court sits in each county and handles three main types of cases: civil, criminal, and family. It is the state's trial court: most trials in New Jersey, including jury trials, take place there.
Appellate Division -- Occasionally the outcome of a case is disputed by one of the parties, often it's a procedural mistake that is in contention. When there is a dispute in the outcome of a case the case can be appealed to the Appellate Division of the Superior Court -- New Jersey's intermediate appellate court. The Appellate Division consists of roughly three dozen judges who sit in panels of two or three for each case. No new evidence is introduced but the laws themselves are interpreted to consider if the outcome was fair for both parties. New Jersey also has a Tax Court, which reviews state tax and property-tax assessment disputes.
Supreme -- The highest court in the state is made up of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. It reviews cases that have already been decided below, resolving disputes over what New Jersey's laws and constitution mean. Its decisions bind every other court in the state and shape New Jersey law for years.
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