There is hereby established a Municipal Court which shall be
known as the "Municipal Court of Wantage Township, Sussex Borough,
Stillwater Township, and Branchville Borough (hereinafter, the "Municipal
Court").
The Municipal Court shall have a seal bearing the name of the
Municipal Court.
The Municipal Court shall have jurisdiction as is now or shall
hereafter be confirmed upon it by law, and the practice and procedure
of said Municipal Court shall be governed by the law in such cases
made and provided and such rules as the Supreme Court shall promulgate
and make applicable to said Court.
Subject to §
7-16, this article will be effective on November 1, 2018, after passage and publication as required by law.
The rights and obligations of the participating municipalities
with respect to the Municipal Court shall be in accordance with the
shared services agreement attached to this article as Exhibit A, and the adoption of this article shall constitute acceptance
by ratification of the aforesaid agreement by the Borough and authorization
for the Mayor to execute the agreement on behalf of the Borough.
A Municipal Court Committee will be appointed to act as a liaison
between the Court personnel and the governing bodies. The Mayor of
each municipality will appoint one representative to the Committee.
The Municipal Court Committee will meet from time to time or order
to assure that there is cooperation and communication in all matters
relating to the new Court.
On the effective date of this article (as above provided), the Borough of Branchville will have withdrawn from and will be deemed to have withdrawn from the Municipal Court of Frankford, Lafayette, Branchville, Sandyston and Montague. On the effective date of this article, all provisions of Chapter
7 of the Code of the Borough of Branchville that are inconsistent with the provisions of this new article are hereby rescinded.
There is hereby established the position and office of the Municipal
Public Defender for the Municipal Court, which position shall be filed
through the appointment by the governing body of Wantage Township.
Eligibility for services of the Municipal Public Defender shall
be determined by the Municipal Court on the basis of the need of the
defendant, except as otherwise provided by state law. The need shall
be measured according to N.J.S.A. 2A:158A-14 and guidelines promulgated
by the New Jersey Supreme Court.
Compensation for the Municipal Public Defender and the payment
terms thereof shall be set by ordinances of the participating municipalities,
following determination of said compensation by the governing body
of Wantage Township.
Any person who applies for representation by the Municipal Public
Defender, or a Court-approved counsel, shall pay an application fee
of $200 for the services of the Municipal Public Defender. In accordance
with guidelines promulgated by the Supreme Court, the Municipal Court
may waive any required application fee, in whole or in part, only
if the Court determines, in its discretion, upon a clear and convincing
showing by the applicant, that the application fee represents an unreasonable
burden on the person seeking representation. The Municipal Court may
permit a person to pay the application fee over a specific period
of time not to exceed four months.
Application fees collected pursuant to this article shall be
dedicated to a fund administered by the Court Administrator of the
Municipal Court. The monies in said fund shall be used exclusively
to meet the cost incurred by the municipalities in providing the services
of the Municipal Public Defender and, when required, for expert and
lay investigation and testimony requested by the Public Defender.
The position and office of the Municipal Public Defender shall
be deemed to have been created on the effective date of this article.
This article will be effective only after identical ordinances
have been passed by the governing bodies of the Township of Wantage,
Borough of Sussex, and the Township of Stillwater, and upon proper
publication and completion of all procedures required under the law.