[Adopted 6-17-1968 by Ord. No. 68-3 as Ch. 4, Art. I, of the 1968 Code]
Pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 264, Pamphlet Laws of 1948,[1] there is hereby established in and for the Borough of Berlin a Municipal Court to be known and designated as the "Municipal Court of the Borough of Berlin."
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 2B:12-1 et seq.
Said Court shall be a court of record and shall have a seal which shall bear the impress of the name of the Court.
Said Court shall be presided over by a Judge of the Municipal Court, who shall have such qualifications as are now or may hereafter be prescribed by law. Said Judge of the Municipal Court shall be appointed by the Borough Council of the Borough of Berlin for a term of three years and shall serve until his successor shall have been appointed and shall qualify. He shall receive such salary as may be determined by the Borough Council, payable at the same times and in the same manner as the salaries of other officers and employees of the Borough of Berlin, as may be provided by resolution of the Borough Council, and said salary shall be in lieu of any and all fees of any nature whatsoever.
The Judge of the Municipal Court shall, before entering upon the performance of the duties of his office, take and subscribe an oath in substantially the same form and manner as provided in and by the statutes of the State of New Jersey.
There is hereby created the office of Clerk of the Municipal Court of the Borough of Berlin. Said Clerk shall be appointed by the Borough Council of said Borough and shall hold his office during the pleasure of the Borough Council; he shall perform such duties as may be provided by law or may be assigned to him by the Judge of the Municipal Court. The Borough Council may, by resolution, provide for such clerical and other assistance as may be necessary for the proper conduct of said Court, and shall further provide the necessary accommodations and supplies therefor.
The territorial jurisdiction of said Court shall be the territory embraced within the Borough of Berlin. Said Court shall have such civil and criminal jurisdiction as shall now, or hereafter may, be prescribed by law and by the rules of the Supreme Court of the State of New Jersey.
The practice and procedure of said Court shall be subject to such rules as the Supreme Court of the State of New Jersey shall promulgate and make applicable to municipal courts, which rules (insofar as they conflict with statutory and common-law regulations theretofore existing) shall supersede the same.
All causes and proceedings of whatever character pending in the Recorder's Court of the Borough of Berlin on the effective date of this article shall be transferred to said Municipal Court and shall be continued therein with the same effect as though they had been commenced originally therein; further, all files, papers, dockets, books of account and data pertaining thereto and any money on deposit for bail or for any other purpose of and in said Recorder's Court shall be so transferred to the Municipal Court herein established.
The Borough Recorder of the Borough of Berlin who shall be in office on the effective date of this Act shall become the Magistrate of said Municipal Court and shall continue to be such Magistrate for a term equal to the balance of his then existing term.
The Borough Council may, by resolution, provide for and appoint for a term of three years from the date of said appointment a Recorder, or may designate some fit person to act in that capacity and solely for such purpose; which Recorder, when so appointed or so designated, shall have the power, in criminal cases, to hold defendants to appear before the court having jurisdiction to hear the matter, by taking recognizance of bail with surety or sureties in such reasonable sum or sums as he shall deem fit and to forward the same to the court before the time of the appearance therein mentioned; such power shall be exercisable in the same manner and shall be subject to the same limitations as in the case of the Judge of the court before which any such defendant is to appear. Any resolution so providing for a Recorder or designating such person shall fix his compensation, if any.
The Judge of the Municipal Court of the Borough of Berlin, when appointed and qualified pursuant to the terms of this article, shall have and exercise any and all powers and duties now vested in said Judge of the Municipal Court in and by the statute referred to herein and any amendments thereof or supplements thereto, and in and by any rules of the Supreme Court of the State of New Jersey heretofore or hereafter promulgated and made applicable to municipal courts.