[Amended 6-25-1991 by Ord. No. 16-91]
The Municipal Court, as heretofore established and empowered
pursuant to law (N.J.S.A. 2A:8-1 et seq.), is continued. The Judge of the Municipal Court shall hereafter
be appointed by the Mayor, with the advice and consent of the Council,
for a term of three years. The Council shall also appoint a Municipal
Court Administrator for a term of two years. The Judge of the Municipal
Court is hereby empowered to appoint a Violations Clerk, who may also
be the Municipal Court Administrator or Deputy Court Administrator
as provided by Supreme Court Rule 7:7-1. The Municipal Court Administrator
and the Violations Clerk shall be subject administratively to the
Judge and the Business Administrator.
[Added 5-14-1996 by Ord. No. 17-96 (Ch. 51 of the 1990
Code)]
A. Position
created; appointment; term. There is hereby created the position of
Public Defender for the Township of Mount Olive, which position shall
be filled by an appointment by the Mayor, with the advice and consent
of the Township Council, to represent persons as directed by the Municipal
Court Judge. The term of office of the Public Defender shall be one
year, commencing January 1 of the calendar year and concluding December
31 of that same year.
B. Qualifications.
The Public Defender shall be an individual who is licensed to practice
law in the State of New Jersey and shall be paid on a per case basis
when hired to represent indigent defendants.
C. Application
for service of Public Defender; fee.
[Amended 2-24-1998 by Ord. No. 3-98]
(1) In
order to obtain the services of Public Defender, an application must
be filed in Municipal Court, on a form to be provided by the Township.
The Municipal Court Judge shall make a decision as to whether a defendant
is indigent after reviewing each defendant's application. This determination
shall be based upon whether the defendant has the financial ability
to secure competent legal representation and to provide all necessary
expenses of representation.
(2) The
Municipal Court Judge may assess an application fee not to exceed
the sum of $200 and not in excess of the cost of the Public Defender
defending the case from each defendant who makes an application for
the services of the Public Defender. This fee shall be due regardless
of whether the applicants are found to require the services of Public
Defender; however, the Municipal Court Judge may waive this fee in
whole or in part if the Judge determines that this application fee
represents an unreasonable burden on said defendant. The defendant's
inability to pay the application fee shall in no way effect or reduce
the rendering of services to him/her. In the case of a defendant who
is unable or unwilling to pay the application fee and for whom the
fee was not waived, the fee shall become a lien, and the Township
may collect the fee consistent with N.J.S.A. 40:6A-1, N.J.S.A. 2A:15A-19 or in any manner as permitted by law.
D. Salary.
The salary for the Public Defender shall be fixed annually in the
Township's municipal budget. The salary for 1996 is $6,000.