[Adopted 6-27-1974]
There is hereby created the office of Public Defender within the Borough.
The Public Defender shall be an attorney at law of the State of New
Jersey, but need not be a resident of the Borough.
The Mayor shall nominate, with the advice and consent of the Council,
and appoint a Public Defender, including the filling of a vacancy in the office
which shall be for the unexpired term only.
The term of office of the Public Defender shall be for one year, commencing
on January 1 and terminating on December 31 of the same year, and until a
successor shall have been appointed and qualified.
The duties of the Public Defender shall be to defend all cases brought
against indigent defendants in the Municipal Court of the Borough alleging
violation of the criminal laws of the State of New Jersey and the motor vehicle
statutes of the State of New Jersey whenever such defendants are entitled
to such representation by law or whenever such representation is deemed necessary
or desirable in the interest of justice and in the discretion of the Judge
of the Municipal Court.
The salary of the Public Defender shall be on a court appearance basis
in such amounts as shall be fixed from time to time by resolution of the Council.
[Added 3-9-1995; amended 7-27-1995; 12-21-1998]
Each individual applying for representation by a Municipal Public Defender
shall be required to pay an application fee of not more than $200. The Municipal
Court Judge may waive any required application fee, in whole or in part, if
the Court determines, in its discretion, that the application fee represents
an unreasonable burden on the individual seeking representation.
