Paterson Municipal Court

How Avery & Avery Practices Here

A Former Judge. A Father-Son Trial Firm. Fifty Years of New Jersey Practice.

Paterson Municipal Court — 111 Broadway — the canonical address, phone, hours, and Avery & Avery practice-notes anchor.

Paterson Municipal Court — at 111 Broadway — runs Passaic County’s largest municipal docket, with Title 39 traffic and Title 2C DP/PDP calendars staggered across the week.

Paterson Municipal’s high docket volume can produce settlement-room delays — building extra time into the morning is prudent.

Address and contact

• Name: Paterson Municipal Court
• Address: 111 Broadway, Paterson, NJ 07505
• Phone: (973) 321-1370
• Vicinage: Passaic Vicinage (Vicinage 11)
• Divisions: Municipal Court (Title 39 + Title 2C DP/PDP)

What this courthouse hears

Paterson Municipal Court is a municipal court. It hears Title 39 traffic offenses, DP and PDP criminal matters, ordinance violations, first-offense DWI under N.J.S.A. 39:4-50, refusal under N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.4a, and after-hours TROs under N.J.S.A. 2C:25-17.

How matters are routed here

For first-offense / municipal-tier matters arising in the Passaic (Vicinage 11) jurisdiction, defense filings, motions, and appearances all proceed at this courthouse complex.

Appeals from this municipal court route to the corresponding County Superior Court — Law Division on the trial-de-novo standard.

Notes from our practice

Two generations of NJ trial practice. Robert W. Avery (NJ bar 1976, former Municipal Court Judge 1986-2000) and John S. Avery (joined 2012) bring complementary depth to appearances at Paterson Municipal Court — 111 Broadway.

Calendar tendencies, prosecutorial offer patterns, and judicial disposition tendencies at this courthouse — built over fifty years of Passaic County practice — inform every Avery representation here.

Free first consultation: (201) 943-2445. Same-day callbacks.

Practical tips for appearances

Paterson Municipal at 111 Broadway has on-site lot parking; arrive 30 minutes early for DWI calendar dates.

• Photo identification is mandatory at NJ courthouse entry. NJ driver’s license, passport, or state non-driver ID covers municipal entry; federal facilities additionally accept military ID.
• Phones are silenced or surrendered. Some municipal sessions collect phones at security; others permit silenced phones once in the courtroom. The entry-desk officer’s instruction governs.
• Business attire moves the calendar. Judges and calendar staff notice — clerks have visible discretion in how quickly a matter is reached when the courtroom is overpacked.
• Documents in triplicate. Court keeps one set, you keep one, and a third covers co-defendants or pre-marked exhibits. Tab labels save courtroom time.
• Arrive 30 minutes before scheduled call. The first calendar call typically runs at the top of the hour; missing it pushes the matter to the back of the day’s docket.
• Confirm calendar position the morning of. Many vicinages publish day-of-assignments on njcourts.gov or vicinage portals.
• Parking turn-over is short. Allow 15-20 minutes to clear parking, walk, and security — courthouse-adjacent meters are heavily enforced.

Surrounding court complex

This courthouse sits within a multi-building NJ judicial complex that typically includes:

• The Municipal Court itself (this entry)
• The Passaic County Surrogate’s Court — uncontested probate, executor qualification, minor guardianship
• The Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office — indictable charge prosecution; PTI applications under N.J.S.A. 2C:43-12
• The Passaic County Sheriff’s Office — service of process, courthouse security
• The Passaic County Clerk’s Office — civil filings, judgment search, recording

Cross-courthouse moves between these offices are routine on a single appearance day.

What to expect after a hearing

Most NJ courts issue an order on the bench at hearing’s end; the written order follows by mail or email within several business days. The order’s effective date is typically the bench-ruling date unless the order specifies otherwise. Appeals run to the next level (Superior Court Law Division for municipal appeals; Appellate Division for Superior Court rulings) on the calendar set by Court Rule.

Recurring procedural questions

Pre-trial motions

Suppression motions in DWI under R. 7:2-2 and State v. Chun apply to breath-testing-result challenges. Motion practice occurs at the municipal level for traffic and DP/PDP cases, at the county Superior Court level for indictables.

Discovery

In municipal-court cases, discovery follows R. 7:7-7: the State turns over the complaint, the discovery package, breath-test logs, and dash/body cam footage. The defense has 10 days from the initial appearance to demand a discovery package; some courts now do this automatically through their portal.

Plea negotiations

Plea offers in DWI cases are constrained by N.J.S.A. 39:4-50 — the statute prohibits plea-bargaining away first-offense DWI to a lesser non-DWI charge. The “no plea-bargaining” rule does NOT apply to refusal under N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.4a — refusal can in some circumstances be negotiated to a Title 39 traffic offense.

Trial scheduling

Trials in municipal court are scheduled by the court calendar; cases that proceed past the discovery and motion phases without resolution typically run to trial within 60–120 days under R. 7:8-5 speedy-trial standards.

Related practice resources

• Passaic County Lawyer
• DWI Practice
• Criminal Defense Practice
• Traffic Practice
• Personal Injury Practice
• About Avery & Avery
• Robert W. Avery, Esq.
• John S. Avery, Esq.

Schedule a Free Consultation

Call (201) 943-2445 or submit through the form.